


The Swan and the Witch

by MoonlitRamblings



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Beauty and the Beast re-write, F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 54,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1604657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitRamblings/pseuds/MoonlitRamblings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, there was a castle with a curse upon it that belonged to a fearsome beast-sorceress. A young woman ends up trapped at the castle with its inhabitants. What will she discover about this strange place, it's odd residents, and it's even more mysterious mistress? Can she break the curse? Beauty and the Beast re-tell, Swan Queen</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In the spirit of inter-archive sharing, I'm posting my still in-progress multi-chapter fic, that is also on FF, over here too. There might be minor edits between the postings because I can't resist fix little things if I catch them. Hope you like it.

Everyone knows the story of the Beast. How a fearsome beast was trapped in a castle, deep in the forbidden woods because of a cruel temperament and unforgiving nature. Once a fair ruler who fell into violent and unjust ways only to be caged by the wise fairy who showed the ruler for who they truly were, cursing them to such a form until they could find someone to love and who loved them in return. The castle and its inhabitants imprisoned until such a love could grow and free them.

But the story isn't just about them. This is also the story of a woman, one who had no idea her story would ever be of any importance.

Nevertheless, once upon a time, a baby girl was left on the steps of an orphanage. It was a perfectly ordinary baby, but she would grow into an extraordinary woman. She was not an innocent and naïve young girl, as they so often are in these stories, for she had to grow up quickly due to her hard life. She knew what it was like to be hungry and cold, although not to starve or freeze. She knew what it was like not to have a permanent home, though she never left her city. She learned not to trust others easily and to rely on herself, but she was afforded just enough kindness to leave herself open to happiness. That is what saved her, and all of them, in the end.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The bell rang in a small shop as a young blonde woman entered.

"Emma!" the elderly clerk cried happily.

"Good morning!" the twenty-year-old replied with a kind smile for the man. "Got anything new?" She was already running her hand along a shelf crammed with books.

Geppetto shook his head, "Sorry, none since yesterday when you last came by."

Emma sighed, "Darn, I was really hoping…oh well. I'll just take," her hand hover over a few before she grinned triumphantly, " _this_ one then."

"But you've already read that one at least two times!" he protested with a laugh.

Emma smiled sheepishly, "But it's one of my favorites. Far off places, dashing sword fights, mystery, traitors and treasure!" She gave him a cheeky grin, "What more could a girl want? Thanks again!" She waved as she left, already turning to the first page.

"You're welcome!" he called after her, shaking his head. What a strange girl.

Emma Swan continued down the street, running her other errands and barely avoiding knocking into the other villagers. However, she carefully weaved her way, picking up the supplies she needed. Her nose was buried in the book and so she missed the frowns and strange looks all the others gave her.

Even in the city she had come from, she was seen as a bit odd, but in this small town? She stuck out like a sore thumb and everyone could see it, none more so than the girl herself. The villagers were nice enough though, content to whisper only and so she grew used to ignoring them.

One person was not content with whispers though. "Emma!" A loud voice boomed next to her, nearly making her trip.

She turned with a jerk. "Oh, Neal," she said. "What's up?"

The man in question smiled charmingly and then grabbed the book from her hands. Emma instantly narrowed her eyes, "Give me my book back. Right now." She knew he only did it to tease her, but it never failed to annoy her far more than he was aware. It was one of things he did that actually ticked her off.

Neal flipped through the pages idly, oblivious to her angry glare, "How do you read this crap? There aren't even any pictures!"

Emma rolled her eyes and snatched the book back, "Some of us don't need pictures." _Because we're over the age of five_ , she added silently.

Neal rolled his own eyes, "Really, Emma, I don't know why you bother. With your looks, you don't need to know anything you might learn in a book. Book-learning will only drive men off. They'll think you think you're smarter or better than they are, if you read so much."

Emma scowled, Neal was usually tolerable and one of the few people here that actually tried to talk to her, at least until he said something that made her want to bash his head into something hard. She was pretty sure he was half-joking, but it was the half that actually believed his own crap that stopped them from being anything more than casual friends. "Oh, well I wouldn't want _that_."

She tried to continue going back to her home—alone—but he insisted on following her. He winked, "Exactly. A girl as pretty as you doesn't need to occupy herself with such worthless pursuits. Not when there are other things you could be doing," he grinned.

She elbowed him, "Really, Mr. Cassidy—that's what you're going with?"

He laughed and shrugged, "Whatever works."

"That actually works on some girls?" Emma asked incredulously.

Neal nodded, "Yup. Flattery is the number one way into a girls sk—heart."

Emma couldn't help but chuckle at that, "Right, her heart."

He shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'. Emma rolled her eyes and jostled him lightly with her shoulder. "You try not to steal anymore hearts—I gotta get back home."

"I make no promises!" he called after her, unable to stop himself from admiring her fine ass as she left. She offered up only a wave, nose back in her book.

Oh, yes. That Emma Swan was a strange one, he thought to himself. And that's why he had to have her. He was getting a bit older, time to stop messing with those silly girls and find himself a proper wife. And, strange habits like reading and preferring men's clothes, were not enough to take away from the fact that Emma was easily the prettiest, and therefore the best, woman in the village—the prettiest that was sensible wife and child raising material (not tumble in the hay material like his previous conquests).

Emma was the newest, shiniest thing in town and Neal was nothing if not easily distracted. And besides, she was the one thing he truly enjoyed most—a challenge. Neal was a hunter by trade, the very best for miles around, and nothing excited Neal more than a good hunt. The harder the challenge, the sweeter the victory, whether it be in the woods with a rifle or with a girl. All the other girls in town were either ugly or too easy, Emma was the only one that really resisted, but he knew if he just set his mind to it she would his, just like everything else in his life.

Neal Cassidy wanted the best, and he would have her.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Emma opened the door to the small cottage she shared with a creak. "I'm home!" she called, not looking up from her book as she set her basket down on the kitchen table.

A light laugh came from the other side of the room, "I'm right here, Emma—no need to shout."

Emma looked up from her book. A pretty brunette sat in the corner of the front room, plying her needle at some cloth. She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Mary Margaret." She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "Still used to having to shout for David."

"It's alright," Mary Margaret dismissed with a wave. Then she gave a wistful sigh, "I do hope he returns soon."

Emma nodded in sympathy, "It must be hard to be away from him so soon after getting married." David was away in the big city; a family member had died and he was mentioned in the will. He set out on the long journey on his own, leaving his new wife at home, in hopes of coming back with some more money to ease their living.

Mary Margaret sighed again, "It is, but I imagine it must be hard for you as well—how long have you been away from your brother before?"

Emma smiled. In truth, David was not her brother by blood. When she was thirteen, they had become family after she had saved his life. He was a shipbuilder, good for his only seventeen years, and she was a street child. She wasn't very trusting of him—everyone had left her in the end—but he stuck around, always offering her a place to stay when it was cold or a bit of food when she got particularly hungry. Over the years they grew very close.

Last year, a terrible sort of luck had befallen his employer and he was left without work. To make matters worse, with sailors being suspicious by nature, it had been decided that those who had worked for his old company carried bad luck too—making it impossible for him to get a new job. Eventually, he had decided to take what little he had and go to the countryside to a village where a very good friend of his deceased mother lived.

He had asked Emma to come with him and by then they had truly become siblings in spirit. She had agreed to come, as he needed someone a little less trusting to look out for him as she had over the years. She was excited to see new places and travel for once—on top of having made her own share of enemies in the city where her blunt attitude and independent nature often led to clashes with others.

When they arrived in the village, he soon found work as a carpenter while she took care of their home and animals. David was rather hopeless with caring for any animals besides Pongo, his dog. They were lucky to have been able to have not only a number of chickens and a cow, but also a pair of horses. Emma liked to tease him that she had really come to be with her horse (who technically belonged to David).

"It's never been this long since we first met, to be honest," Emma told her. "But he should be home any day now and we'll give him a big welcome."

Mary Margaret smiled at that, "Oh yes!" Then she looked shy for a moment, "May I confess something to you, Emma?"

Emma went over to sit by her, "Of course you can. You _are_ my sister." Mary Margaret was the daughter of the friend who had known David's mother. She was about two years older than Emma.

She and David fell in love almost at first sight. Almost because when Mary Margaret had first seen him in the house, she thought he was a robber and attacked him with a frying pan. Eventually the whole situation as sorted out and the rest was history. They had married just over three months ago.

Mary Margaret smiled widely at that. "Yes, well. I wanted to wait for David to return, but I cannot contain myself much longer." Emma looked at her eagerly, wondering what news she could have. "I didn't find out until after he left, only a few days ago actually, but I'm pregnant!"

Emma stared at her in shock before wrapping her arms around her in a strong hug, "Really?"

Mary Margaret nodded happily. "Wow, that's wonderful!" Emma stared at Mary Margaret's stomach, before looking back at her smiling face. "I'm going to have a niece or a nephew."

"Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story starts to become its own in later chapters. I know the beginning is kinda slow but it'll pick up. Just stay with me ;)

Unfortunately for them, David did not come home the next day. Or the next. Or even a week later. They began to get seriously worried.

Emma was going through her chores even more distractedly than usual, worrying about David. She did her best to assure Mary Margaret everything was fine because she knew the other woman needed to hear it. Truthfully though, Emma was pretty convinced something bad _had_ happened to him.

Any other man, she would just assume he’d left. But David would never do that. He was one of the rare few genuinely decent and kind-hearted people out there. Especially with Mary Margaret at home. Those two were so in love it actually made Emma faintly uncomfortable at times. She hoped it was only weather or complications in town, but her gut was telling her that it was something far worse.

What was she going to do though? She couldn’t very well go find him. Firstly she couldn’t leave poor Mary Margaret alone and more importantly she had no idea where he even was!

She was so lost in her thoughts she completely missed the next step and nearly went tumbling down the stairs. Fortunately, Neal had been nearby (stalking her) and grabbed her by the arms. Emma caught her breath quickly and pulled herself from his grip, uncomfortable. “Thanks,” she said with a smile and Neal was reminded once more of her beauty.

He invaded her personal space, “No trouble at all.” He reached and took her basket before she could protest. “I got this.”

She frowned, not liking his presumption, but decided to allow it, too tired of worrying to argue with him today. She resumed walking home, leaving the town behind, and taking Neal with her.

“So,” Neal said, disliking silence and loving the sound of his own voice, “I’ve been thinking…”

“That’s never good,” Emma muttered under her breath, her mouth quirking up at the corners.

“…And I think it’s time I settled down.”

Emma blinked, that not being what she expected—at all. “Settled…down?”

“Yeah! You know, find myself a nice little wife,” Neal continued, mistaking her clarification for interest. He looked her over once more, obviously still finding her appealing and continued. “Picture this:” he spread his hands out in front of him as they followed the path to her cottage, “I get home from a long hunt and come home to a pretty young thing, ready with food and a foot massage. We’ll have five or six strong boys—like me. Hm, a couple of good hunting dogs too.”

Neal was lost in his dream as Emma unlocked the door, she used his distraction to take back her things. “Right,” she said skeptically, “Sounds great.”

He snapped back to her, “It will be. So what do you say?”

Emma furrowed her brow, “Huh? To what?”

“To being my wife, of course,” he answered as if she was the slow one.

“…Me? Be your wife?” she stared at him uncomprehending. He couldn’t be serious. How the hell could he think that she would ever want to marry him?

“I know, I know—it’s a lot to take in. Not every day your dreams come true.”

Oh God, he _was_ serious. She let out a strangled laugh. “And what would you know of my dreams?” Emma asked incredulously. The very idea of Neal of all people knowing her dreams was ridiculous.

“What’s there to know? All women want to get married and who wouldn’t want to marry me?” Neal answered dismissively.

For a moment, all she could do was stare at him before she opened the door to the cottage ducking inside to put her stuff down. It was almost impressive how completely wrong he was. Marrying Neal was that last thing she would ever do. She wanted to leave this small town and travel. Probably not even to her home city. She wanted to explore the world, visit some of the places she’s only read about in books. Go somewhere new and exciting, where nothing was ever boring or monotonous.

If she ever wanted to marry someone, it would not be to ‘settle down’ in some provincial town and raise a ton of children. She would want someone to share in her adventures with her, or who at least didn’t think the idea was odd or strange like all these small minded people. Someone who understood her. An equal, not someone so idiotic that thought himself so far above her.

When she reappeared in the doorway, she almost said as much until she remembered she did have to live in this town for a bit longer, and David would live here for the rest of his life. She tried not to be as blunt as she normally was, “Neal, I’m flattered, really, but I’m not exactly “mothering” material—surely there are plenty of other women in town much more suited to you.”

Neal blinked at her in confusion, a small frown appearing as it dawned on him she hadn’t said ‘yes’ immediately. “Nonsense, every woman wants children and can be a mother. And I want you.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed slightly, slowly losing her grip on her tongue, “Yes, well, I’m very sorry Neal, but I have a duty to my brother and his new wife. And I really don’t think you’d be happy married to me. I must decline.”

Neal stared at her and instead of getting upset or hurt, merely got angry. “You what?” He scoffed, “Obviously you’re not thinking clearly.”

Her eyes hardened, “I said no. Now please leave my home.”

He didn’t even seem to hear her and took a step in. “Wait a minute,” his face was thunderous.

That was the final straw for Emma. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a hard shove. To Neal’s great surprise, she was much stronger than she looked, and he stumbled back, nearly falling down the steps. “I’m sorry, but I do not wish to marry you. Good day.” And the wooden door swung shut.

-x-x-x-

After she was sure he had left, Emma retreated to the barn to think. David had personally fixed it up as soon as they settled in. She needed to get out of the cottage and calm down from Neal’s ridiculous behavior. The make-shift stable was a comfort. She went over to her horse, Jaune.

She had visited him often enough after they first met when she tumbled into his stall by accident and hid from some obnoxious idiots that had been taught a valuable lesson, if you asked her—they hadn’t exactly seen it as such. After that she had gone back to visit him often, and they had formed a solid friendship—one stubborn creature to another.

Truthfully, Emma had rescued him from his owner who was a bit too heavy with the riding crop, disgusted at his treatment of the horse. She couldn’t ignore the treatment any longer even though she had no right or real ability to interfere. Unfortunately she was unable to keep him hidden for long (the city being a hard place to hide a stolen horse for very long—especially when you were poor) and so the owner had coming looking. David had saved them both by offering to buy Jaune.

Emma had contributed a bit, but the lion’s share of the money had come from David’s own coffers. David tried to pass him to her as a gift but Emma insisted that he was David’s horse since he was the one who had paid for him. Still, she was saving up the little money she got from odd jobs and one day she would pay David back. She was almost there, only having been set back once or twice when money got low when they first left and then as they settled in here.

She sighed, when she could truly own Jaune would also be when she moved on from the quaint cottage in this quaint village. Neal had talked of her dreams. Ha! As if he could ever hope to know what she wanted.

Still, her angry thoughts and contemplation of the future could not hold off her despairing thoughts over David’s absence for long. What would she do if David didn’t come back? What would Mary Margaret do?

She brushed Jaune as she thought, chewing her bottom lip as she tried to keep her thoughts from spiraling out of control. All of a sudden she heard a loud commotion in the yard. She rushed out and was nearly bowled over by Pongo.

“Pongo!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here, boy?” She wrapped her arms around the Dalmatian, surprised at how happy she was to see the dog. “Where’s David?” she looked around, sure the man himself must be behind the dog, but no one was in sight.

Pongo let out a pitiful whine and panted. It was then she realized he was clearly distressed. “Come on, let’s get you some water.”

She led the dog over to the water trough, filled it up and thought as he drank greedily. If Pongo was here and not with David then something bad had definitely happened. However, if Pongo had found his way home, then he couldn’t have gotten separated from David too long ago. That meant David couldn’t be more than a day away, less probably. She looked around, but their other horse and cart didn’t seem to have made it back.

The more she thought about it, the more determined she grew. She had to go find David and make sure he got home safely. She left Pongo to go inside and grab her dagger and cloak. If she left now, she should be able to find him before it got dark, especially if Pongo had only been traveling for the morning, which, judging by how tired he was, seemed to be the case.

When she came out, Pongo met her and she fed him some meat as they went into the stable. She quickly began saddling Jaune up. “Now Pongo, you did very good to come home, but now I need you to take me back.”

Pongo whined in distress. “Don’t give me that. We need to get David back,” she scolded lightly. Pongo barked at his master’s name and looked a bit more confident. She fed him another treat. “Good boy. We’ll get him and everyone will be back home, safe and sound.”

He barked again and she led Jaune out of the stable. She stopped once more to leave Mary Margaret a message not to worry, only saying that she had some news about David and was going to meet him. Which wasn’t exactly lying. Technically.

Emma swung up into the saddle, gave Pongo a nod and clicked at the horse to follow him. She would find David and get him home safe to his wife, Emma vowed to herself. She would do her very best to make sure the man who had helped her so much could at least be guaranteed his own family. No one deserved it more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Juane' means yellow in French, like Emma's yellow bug? Sorry, I know I'm probably the only one who cares about that ^^'


	3. Chapter 3

Pongo led her into the woods south of their cottage for a good while before going west. When they had first come to the town, they had gone straight east and then straight north, this was cutting through a different, much less traveled area at an angle. There were good reasons it was best avoided, rumors of terrible things living there, people disappearing. It was just like David to have ignored such rumors just to make it back to them a bit quicker—especially if he'd been running late.

Emma wanted to dismiss such rumors out of hand but as she rode deeper into the forest she started to believe them more and more. The whole place seemed sinister and haunted. Even the trees looked like they were out to get her. What had made David think this was a good idea?

Pongo was obviously on edge, but he seemed to decide his duty was to his master. He wanted Emma to rescue him and so on he went. Emma looked around nervously, trusting Jaune to know without being asked to follow the Dalmatian. Jaune was a remarkably calm horse, (he had been even all those years ago when a random girl had tumbled into his stall with a warning), but even he was could tell something was wrong, she could feel the tension in him as they rode. The whole place was unsettling, from the skeletal trees to the ever present fog. _And why on earth was it dark as night despite it only being the afternoon?_

Soon the ground evened out and they seemed to come to a more established path of sorts. Emma looked and was surprised to see a giant castle looming up in front of her. _What the hell is a castle doing in the middle of a creepy forest?_ Emma asked herself. _And why have I never heard of it?_ The castle certainly suited the surrounding trees though. Lightening cracked around it ominously, despite the fact that there wasn't a storm—though it looked like there might have been one recently. And Pongo seemed headed straight for it.

Sure enough, soon they arrived at very large iron gate. The gate was slightly ajar, signally that someone had probably come through here recently. New determination filled her in spite of the eerie circumstances. She would find David and she would bring him home.

So, she pushed on, past the ludicrously tall gates, down a long road lined with trees that at least had some leaves on them, over a stone bridge, under an upraised portcullis and into a sort of courtyard—the fog made it hard to tell.

Emma dismounted, stroking Jaune's nose, trying to keep him calm. Frankly, the place was very disturbing. A strong wind blew through, rustling dead leaves, making her cloak swirl and her hair fly into her face. She shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her.

Emma looked down at Pongo, who was sniffing with his nose to the ground. "Any chance David's out here somewhere and we can just grab him and go without heading into the spooky castle?" Pongo whined before padding up the large stone steps and pawing at the giant wooden doors of the castle.

Emma sighed, but followed him. "Of course not. That would be too easy." She grasped the large knocker and heaved against one of the doors, arm muscles straining. It opened slowly, the noise echoing through the empty air behind it.

She hesitantly went in. "Hello?" she asked. "Anybody home?" She took a few more steps, the silence strangely comforting—she'd rather an abandoned creepy castle over one that still had something living in it. Emma wasn't afraid of the dark, having taken advantage of the ability to hide herself, but she knew any sort of person could hide there as well and she wasn't sure she wanted to meet the kind of person who hung out in a sketchy castle in the middle of a forest.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are?" She strolled in a bit more confidently, more sure that it was empty. That is until she realized that the only reason she could see anything at all was because of the torch in a wall bracket.

She swallowed. A lit torch still burning meant that someone had been here—recently. She chose to keep her mouth shut from then on as she wrestled the torch from its iron holder. She held it up, trying to see more of the castle, but the light just wasn't enough to let her know anything beyond that the castle was huge—she must be in some sort of grand entrance hall.

She'd read about places like this, but she'd never really thought she'd actually get to be in one. Her mind was filled with questions like 'why was David here?' 'where was here?' 'who else was here?' and 'what was this place?' However she was pulled from her thoughts by an impatient Pongo. He barked from the edge of her circle of light. Evidently he was annoyed at her dilly-dallying and wanted to get on with tracking his master. "Right, coming," she said as she hurried over to him.

He led her further into the castle, through a few halls before heading down a twisting narrow set of stairs. Eventually, they reached what appeared to be a dungeon.

It was definitely much creepier than it was in books. The high windows letting in odd bits of light, the gradual drip, drip of water, and even what sounded like ghosts whispering. The air was frigid and musty causing her to draw her cloak tighter and try to control a sneeze.

Pongo was sniffing—nose to the cold stones, obviously have a harder time following the scent. He moved slowly down the line of cells. Then Emma heard what was definitely a shuffle. "Is someone there?" she asked cautiously, wincing at the slight echo despite the fact that she'd try to keep her voice down.

A pause before more noises of movement. "Hello?" The new voice echoed as well, the tone weary and scared, but she recognized it all the same.

She and Pongo ran for the sound, their footsteps obvious as they splashed through some shallow puddles, "David?" The relief crashed over her like a wave.

"Emma?" came the disbelieving voice.

"David! There you are!" She hadn't been aware of just how worried she was that she'd never find him, or worse that she would and he would be… Emma shook that thought from her head—he was right there, he was fine. Focus on getting him out, she told herself, you can be grateful when we're back home. Emma set her torch in a holder next to the cell David was being held in.

"Emma! Pongo? What are you doing here?" he asked in shock as Emma set about trying to figure out how to get him out of the cell. "You have to leave. Quick!"

"We're here to rescue, of course." She flashed him a cheeky grin. "And I'm _not_ leaving you here," Emma said with determination as she began to pick the lock.

"It's not worth both of our lives!" he pleaded with her to see reason. "Please! Before it comes back!"

"Who?" Emma asked distractedly, her tongue stuck out as she focused on opening the lock.

Just as the lock popped open and Pongo rushing forward to lick David's face, a voice came out of the shadows. "I believe he is referring to me, dear," a dark voice intoned.

Emma spun in surprise, her dagger held out defensively. A cruel laugh sounded and the knife went flying from her hands to stick into the wall. Emma gulped, but tried not to let her fear show, "Who's there?"

A pair of dark eyes lit up in the corner, swirling with purple, "I am the Queen of this castle so it I who should be asking that, don't you think? My, my, my. So many trespassers in so short a span."

Emma's face hardened. "Let him go. He hasn't done anything."

"On the contrary, he trespassed on my lands, broke into my castle, ate my food, and then stole from me," the dark feminine voice listed off.

"I know David, he would never do such things on purpose. There must be some mistake," Emma pled.

"Emma, don't bother with that crazy witch. Run!" David begged.

"Silence!" the voice commanded, purple magic closing over David's mouth like a gag.

"Stop! Please, he has a family. Keep me instead! Just let him go!" Emma said frantically.

There was a pause as Emma refused to meet David's frantic eyes. Then a figure stepped forward. Emma gasped in shock, recoiling instinctively. It was definitely female, but what sort of creature stood before her? It was unlike any she had seen or heard of.

Her body covered in dark fur, almost blue-ish black in color, however she was shaped as a person with individual fingers, upright on two legs. Or so Emma believed, the gown she wore obscuring her lower half. The gown was black as well, rich and elegant. Her face was stranger still, cat ears and human hair on top of a head with purple cat eyes, a cat nose and a human mouth. She stood at Emma's own height and yet the presence she cast made her seem much larger. "You would trade places with him?" She tilted her head to the side as if examining a novelty she'd never seen before.

Emma fought to get over her shock. She swallowed before nodding resolutely, "Yes, I would."

The strange sorceress stared at her for a moment, long enough for Emma to grow uncomfortable before the beast gave her a wolf's grin, all sharp teeth and predatory intent, "Very well, a bargain is struck. You shall stay in the castle for the rest of your days and the man is free to leave."

"Thank you," Emma was caught between relief that David could leave and despair at her own impending imprisonment. "May I have some time to say goodbye?"

The witch frowned, as if not understanding why Emma would ask. "I have been merciful enough in letting one of you leave, let alone affording both of you your lives, have I not?"

Emma scowled and snapped, "Oh, come on. I already promised to stay forever, the least you could give me was five minutes to say goodbye to my brother."

The witch pulled back a tiny bit, looking surprised to have been spoken to in such a manner. Emma immediately regretted misspeaking. _Way to piss off the powerful sorceress, Swan_. But to her surprise the witch merely disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

It seemed she took her magical gag with her as David immediately gulped in a large breath, making Emma turn her head from the empty spot and rush to him. "Are you alright?"

"Am _I_ alright?!" David cried. "Are you crazy? Why did you do that?" Pongo whimpered in distress at both of their tones. David absentmindedly scratched his head.

Emma helped David to his feet, "I couldn't let you stay trapped here, David."

"But now you're trapped here instead!"

"I don't have a wife at home. I promised Mary Margaret that I would find and rescue you. I intend to keep that promise," Emma stated firmly.

"Emma," David said with a sigh, "I don't think she meant for you to be trapped instead. Surely she didn't expect you to exchange your freedom for mine—if she truly knew you were even attempting to do such a foolhardy thing."

Emma looked down. David spoke again, his hand on her shoulder, "Come on, maybe we can both make it out of here. While the abominable creature is gone."

"Or that could get us both trapped. Or dead. I won't take that risk," Emma replied stubbornly, her chin jutting out. When David looked like he was going to argue further, Emma revealed in a low voice, "Mary Margaret is with child."

David looked gob smacked. "What?" he asked in a reverent voice.

"She only just found out, while you were gone," Emma told him. He looked shocked and elated in equal measure. "I'll not break up a family. I'll not have a child grow up father-less—not if I can help it," she said fiercely, leaving no room for argument.

"But, Emma…." David didn't want to accept Emma's plan, though it was looking more or more like the best thing.

Before Emma could argue further, a cloud of smoke appeared in the corner. The witch was back. "Time to go, dear," she said with a sinister smile.

"Wait," David protested, his protective nature unable to silence itself, "Can you promise that she will not be harmed? That you won't just kill her when I leave?"

The witch aggressively stepped forward with a snarl, her pointed teeth flashing in the low light and her eyes swirling with purple. "The girl will not be harmed in my castle by anything other her own foolishness. Why would I take her prisoner only to kill her? And it's not as if I wished to do so now, you would be able to stop me," she added contemptuously. Her eyes narrowed, " _You_ are leaving."

"I'll be fine, David. Go. Tell Mary Margaret, I'm sorry I won't get to meet the baby," Emma tried to reassure him.

"Emma!" David was starting to disappear in a haze of purple smoke. "I'm sorry! Never forget we love you!" His voice faded, leaving only wisps of smoke where he had stood.

"Bye…" Emma stared at the spot in sorrow. She already missed him. She would never see the man she thought of as her older brother or the woman she saw as a sister again. She would never get to so much as meet her niece or nephew.

"How touching," the witch sneered. Emma turned to her with a glare, but she didn't seem to notice. The sorceress inspected her nails as if she didn't have a care in the world. The only thing that stopped Emma from responding with something nasty in kind was that she noticed the witch's nails were actually claws—and very sharp ones at that.

Emma ran a hand through her tangled curls. How had everything gone so completely wrong? She felt the bizarre desire to laugh at the absurdity of the direction her life was spiraling in.

"Would you care to see your room?" the witch's words startled her.

Emma glanced at the dirty, dank cell David had been in. "You mean it's not here?"

The witch shrugged, "If you're going to be here permanently you may as well have a proper room." She looked at Emma sideways, "Unless of course, you'd prefer to stay there…"

"No!" Emma answered hastily, "Definitely not."

"Then follow me." The witch strode from the room and, as she walked instead of simply disappearing, Emma could hear the click of claws on the stone floor.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The witch led the blonde through a dizzying maze of corridors in silence. Emma was beginning to move past her fear, for the moment, studying her surroundings with interest and curiosity. If anything could be said about Emma it was that she was far too curious for her own good. The place certainly was impressive. She had missed more than she thought in her hurry to find David.

It was also helpful that wherever the witch went, candles lit up so she could actually see farther than a few feet around of her. The ceilings were very lofty, there were beautiful paintings and lots of ornaments everywhere—all indicators that it was very genuine castle. Though it certainly had a haunted feel to it; the paintings were stunning but somehow sad and lonely, the statues dark and cold, and the overall décor made her shiver at the hostility—like even the castle didn't want her here. On top of all that, it was so big—making her feel very small and insignificant. It should have made her feel uncomfortable, to be all alone in a creeptastic castle with a crazy magical beast, but she began to get a really strong impression that they were not in fact alone.

The whispers she thought she was imagining in the dungeons were still there, if not louder. She even thought she'd seen the Queen's ear twitch towards the sounds once or twice. It would make sense for royalty to have some kind of help. The question was if they were, well, _normal_ or not. She tried to think of a good way to check it out for herself, but Emma wasn't exactly known for being indirect, "So…anyone else in this place?"

"My servants. I'm sure they will introduce themselves shortly," the answer was rather clipped and her face was contorted as if she was thinking about something serious. Or at least that's what Emma thought, it was really hard to tell.

"How many do you have?" Emma asked, knowing the creature must be powerful or wealthy to employ a number of servants. And she looked to be both, if the castle and casual magic were anything to go by.

"Too many," the witch said darkly, "Far too troublesome for their own good."

They came to the top of a grandiose stairway that split in two directions. The sorceress turned to face her, her cape flaring out at the movement. Emma tried not to flinch at the abrupt motion, still rather anxious of the witch's frightful appearance. In the better light, Emma noticed her outfit wasn't pure black, but black and purple.

Her face was deadly serious as she stared at the blonde. She gestured to the stairs that led to the right. The lights dropped off there, though it was almost like it seemed even darker than just the candles being unlit, like that part of the castle was actively absorbing the light, and Emma couldn't see anything beyond a few feet. "You will not go into the West Wing of the castle under any circumstances," she intoned solemnly, not even blinking. "You may go anywhere else, but you will leave this part alone."

"Why? What's up there?" Emma couldn't help but ask.

The creature snarled, purple sparks flying off of her, as she got in Emma's face, "None of your business! You are never to go there! Ever! Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah—geeez." Emma said, surprised by the over the top reaction. She tried to seem unbothered, but truthfully she was sweating. The beast was scary when her voice got like that—like she would eat you and not even care. She held up her hands in surrender, "I got it. Leave the creepy stairs alone."

The witch sent her a glare that could peel paint and stormed up the left staircase. Emma followed slowly and, not wanting to anger her further, kept her remaining questions to herself.

Finally, the creature came to a halt in front of a large wooden door. It seemed unremarkable from any of the other doors, Emma studied the painting across from it so she would be able to find it later. "This is your room. You are free to venture wherever you wish. Leave me alone and don't bother the servants unnecessarily. Dinner is at six o'clock sharp. I will see you then."

Emma scowled, she always hated being told what to do and she hated schedules, "What if I don't want to have dinner with you?"

The witch narrowed her eyes. "You will have dinner with me at six o'clock," she hissed, "Or you will not eat." With that, she poofed away leaving Emma glaring at nothing.

Emma scowled and sighed, kicking the wall lightly and muttering under her breath about crazy witches. She turned to the door nervously, testing the handle. It turned easily. Emma took a deep breath and opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't mean to delay, but at least Regina's here now, yeah? Hope you liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the elegant and spacious rooms she found on the other side of the door were certainly not it. She gazed around in shock at the rich furnishings. Surely she had never seen a room so fine before.

She appeared to be in a sitting room of some sort, with two other rooms going off on each side. She looked around, it seemed tasteful, though a bit princess for her—pastel colors not really being her thing—but at least nothing was pink. Everything looked like it was in very good condition.

Is this how the queen treats all her prisoners? Emma thought wryly. This was easily the nicest place she had ever been in, a very far cry from the cell David had been tossed in. Before she could think about that further, she was distracted by a sound.

She instantly froze, looking around warily. She pulled out her dagger, pointing it toward the room to her left where the sounds were coming from before she looked down at it in shock. When had she gotten her dagger back? Last time she had seen it, it had been stuck in the wall in the dungeons. The witch must have given it back to her at some point. Emma didn't know if she should feel better that she had her dagger back or nervous that the witch didn't even care if her prisoners were armed. Emma supposed the knife wasn't exactly a threat to her.

She was drawn out of her musing by more noises and so she crept closer to the room. She slowly looked inside, "Who's there?" She stepped into the room, dagger at the ready. A figure behind the open door of a wardrobe of some kind let out a squeak of surprise, dropping something. They leaned over to pick it up, drawing Emma's attention to their furry boots, the only part of them she could see. She looked back up to where she assumed the person's head was at the sound of their voice from behind the door, "Oh! I'm so sorry."

It was a girl's voice, seemingly genuine in its distress. Emma relaxed at the sound of another person, beyond grateful there was someone here who sounded so normal. However, most of that evaporated when the girl stepped back and shut the door.

She was definitely not a normal girl and she was definitely not wearing boots. The girl was covered in fur, like the witch. However, where the beast seemed catlike in appearance, and temperament, this girl looked much more wolflike. She had on a strange outfit, a short red skirt and white top, her hair in pigtails.

Emma's mouth fell open as she stared while the girl gave a little bow and continued apologizing.  
"I'm sorry," she did seem genuinely embarrassed, her hand tugging on a pigtail, "I thought you'd take longer!"

"Wha…? Who…?" Emma didn't know where to even begin.

"Sorry." She couldn't seem to stop saying that. "You're probably really confused right now and I'm not helping at all." She took a deep breath, visibly collecting herself, and smiled, "I'm Ruby. I was supposed to get your room ready. Hi."

"…Hi." Emma didn't know what else to say. She got that this must be one of the servants the witch spoke of. Was there anything about this place that was going to be normal?

As if the universe had heard her, she heard another noise, "Eh-hem." Emma turned sharply and nearly fell over in shock. There was a face in the mirror. A moving face. A talking face. It was an exotic looking man, complete with a turban. He cleared his throat once more, but now having her full attention, he continued, "Yes, now, on behalf of the Queen's staff, welcome to the Dark Castle." He seemed to be much more servant-like, proper, than the other girl. "My name is Sidney Glass and I am the head footman. Miss Ruby Lucas has been assigned as your…" he frowned, searching for the right word. "Maid?"

Ruby made a face and shook her head in distaste. "Lady-in-waiting?" he tried.

Ruby considered it and then smiled. "That sounds better—fancier, more important."

"Of course," he said dryly and Emma could almost see the suppressed eye roll. "Ruby will be your lady-in-waiting. If you have any questions you may ask her," he nodded his head to Ruby, "or, by saying my name into any mirror, summon me to answer any concerns you may have. Any questions at the moment?"

He stared at her expectantly, but Emma had no idea what to ask a mirror and so she mutely shook her head. He raised a brow at her silence, gave her a once over, evidently finding her lacking, before he continued, "Alright. I shall go. Remember, dinner is at six o'clock. Her Majesty hates tardiness." Having said his piece, the mirror swirled and then emptied, leaving her staring at her own reflection. Mirror Emma looked rather pale. Perhaps she should sit down.

Emma moved blindly to the bed, blankly staring at nothing. Ruby looked at her with concern, but stayed back, obviously not wanting to upset her further. "Miss?" she asked as Emma collapsed heavily on the bed.

Emma fell back and stared up at the canopy over the bed. "There," she began, trying to process everything that was happening to her, "—there was a face in the mirror. And it talked to me. And you're part wolf and I'm the prisoner of a witch, creature, thing." What happened to my life? She shut her eyes tightly and then opened them again. Nope, the fancy canopy over the bed was still there. This was really happening. Crap.

"Um," Ruby didn't know how to respond to that or even if she was supposed to. "Yes?" She sat down on the bed next to Emma, though she did leave a few feet of space between them. "Sorry about that, by the way." Emma rolled her head over to look at her. "The whole prisoner thing. I mean, I know we're all excited to have a visitor, but you're probably not."

"Um, no. Not so much," Emma acknowledged.

Ruby hung her head, "And it's all our fault too."

Emma raised a brow at that and pushed herself up. "What'dya mean?" She scrunched her face up in confusion. "How the heck could this all be your fault?"

"Because," Ruby said sorrowfully, "We're the ones who let that man in. The one you followed." Emma nodded at her to show she was following. "We knew the queen wouldn't like anyone in the castle and Sidney and Archie told us it was a bad idea. But Granny didn't think he should be left out in the rain. And I'm the one who insisted on getting him food and letting him sit in the queen's chair." Ruby said all of this in one breath and Emma had no idea who she was talking about, but then she remembered what the witch had said. David's 'crimes'.

"Oh," Emma considered this new information before she sighed. "It's not your fault. You didn't know she'd try to imprison anyone."

Ruby nibbled her bottom lip between sharp teeth. "Still…"

"Really, it's fine. David should have known better than to go into some strange castle. Besides, you didn't make that witch keep me," Emma continued, "That's on her."

"I guess." There was a moment of quiet. "Who was he?"

"Hm," Emma was lost in her thoughts.

"That man. He seemed really nice. Who was he?" Ruby persisted, her curiosity over something new too much to contain.

"Oh, that was David. He's my older brother," Emma explained. "I came here to find him cuz he'd been missing too long and we were getting worried."

"We?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded, "Me and Mary Margaret, his wife. That's why I agreed to stay. They just got married—I don't have anyone like that so…." She shrugged.

"Oh, that's too bad. I don't either," Ruby added, trying to cheer her up.

Emma gave her a smile, the girl was sweet, "It's fine, I don't really mind."

"What's your name? I can't believe I forgot to ask," Ruby said sheepishly.

"Emma, Emma Swan."

Ruby held out a paw, "Nice to meet you, Miss Swan."

Emma laughed and shook it, "Nice to meet you too. And please, just call me Emma."

"You got it, Emma." Ruby shot a look at the clock and stood up. "Dinner's gonna be soon. Do you wanna change your clothes?"

Emma copied her, standing up with a stretch, "I don't know if I wanna go. I mean that witch is kinda a real bitch," she chuckled lightly at her own rhyme. "I kinda wanna bail just to piss her off."

Ruby looked nervous, "I don't think you should do that. The Queen would definitely get mad. And aren't you hungry?"

Emma frowned, "Well, there is that. She said if I didn't come to dinner I wasn't allowed to eat."

Ruby's expression fell, "That's too bad. If she said that then you really can't. No one would be allowed to give you any food."

Emma looked crestfallen at that, "Darn, I was hoping I could sneak something."

Ruby shook her head, "Not with the Queen's magic. Like you said she'd be furious if you missed and would definitely make sure you couldn't."

Emma's frown deepened as she considered if it was worth it, just to piss the witch off.

"The food's really good here. Dinner is always a feast. The Queen eats first, but everyone gets some when she's done—which is a lot," she wheedled. "My Granny is the head chef and she's very good."

Emma was still torn until her stomach let out a loud growl. She gave in laughing, "Alright, you got me. I missed lunch anyways. Now that all the crazy-ness is over, I'm pretty starving."

Ruby grinned, "You won't regret it. Trust me. Now, clothes?" She motioned Emma over to the wardrobe.

Emma frowned, "Why do I need to get changed?" She looked down at the brown breeches, white shirt and blue vest she had on under her matching blue cloak. Sure, it wasn't the highest quality, but they were perfectly fine clothes. "Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Oh, no," Ruby said assured her, "Just, people tend to get dressed up for dinner, you know? And you've been travelling in those. I just figured you'd want a new outfit."

Emma nodded, "I guess, but…" She opened the doors of the wardrobe and stared at the dresses inside. She wrinkled her nose, "I don't do dresses."

Ruby looked surprised, glancing in the wardrobe and then back to Emma. "How come? These are so pretty."

She actually looked a bit hurt and Emma remembered she'd set up the room. She probably picked out those dresses for her. "They are," she reassured the teenager, "I don't like, well, any dresses." She winced at how that sounded and she tried to explain. "They're just so troublesome. They're hot and they get dirty and you can't ride correctly and just…too much trouble. I mean, yeah I've worn some on special occasions, but…I really prefer pants."

She gave the wolf-girl a look, silently asking her to understand. Ruby considered her before smiling, "That makes sense. You'll have to give us some time then to get you the right clothes then. Most men's clothes will be too big. The seamstresses will need time."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Emma quickly tried to dissuade her, she didn't want anyone going through special trouble just for her.

"No," Ruby said, "It's fine, really. To be honest, the seamstresses like new projects. It can get kinda boring here and the Queen isn't exactly diverse in her color schemes. They'll like the distraction—trust me."

"If you're sure…"

Ruby nodded resolutely. "I am." Her eyes darted to the clock again. "It's time to go anyways."

"Alright," Emma motioned for her to show her the way. As they left Emma couldn't help but ask, "So exactly how good is this food?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Ruby led her through the castle and Emma had no idea how she was going to avoid getting lost. Oh, well, she'd been lost before—normally that's how she found the more interesting places.

Eventually they made it to a big set of double doors. Ruby pushed one open to reveal a large dining room.

There were a number of long tables, but Emma's eyes were drawn to the right of the room, where a smaller table was up on a dais. That one was actually set, complete with a center piece of surprisingly pretty flowers for this time of year, numerous plates with covers, and lit candles. The table could have seated ten or fifteen people, but only one spot was occupied: the Queen's.

Ruby ushered her over to the table hurriedly. Emma breathed in deeply, the food smelled amazing. She was suddenly very glad she had decided to come. After Emma sat down, Ruby bowed to the Queen and left. Emma tried to ignore the slight rise in her anxiety at her new ally leaving.

"You're late, Miss Swan," the crisp voice admonished, her gaze never wavering from the blonde.

Emma's response was to shrug, "Please, it can't have been by more than a minute."

The witch sniffed, her face stern, "You will be on time."

Emma rolled her eyes but her gaze was drawn to the food and away from the prickly creature across from her. "Sure."

The witch stared at her prisoner intently, but the girl didn't look up and so she sighed. She raised a hand, and a few servants rushed forward to serve them.

Emma looked up at the noise of carts coming over. She was surprised to see one come up to the side of the table with a tea pot on it, a tea pot who seemed to be the one in charge of the trays.

"Dinner is served," the anthropomorphic tea pot said with a flourish. Emma didn't know how a tea pot could sound kind and grandmotherly, but this one did.

The Queen nodded, "Thank you. That will be all for now."

The tea pot nodded and wheeled away, but not before giving Emma a wink. Heartened by the gesture, and the good food spread out in front of her, Emma felt most of her tension leave as she began to serve herself. The witch watched her for a moment before helping herself as well.

They ate in silence at first, no sound except for the click of cutlery on dishware.

Eventually, Emma decided to break the silence. She might as well see if she could get any answers from the witch. That reminded her, "So, what's your name?" Emma asked. The sorceress stared at her in surprise. "What?" Emma asked a little defensively, "You evidently already know my name, and if I'm gonna be stuck here, I'd like to at least know who I'm stuck with."

The witch stared at her, unblinking; her purple eyes were strangely hypnotizing. At last she looked back down at her food, releasing Emma from her gaze, and resumed eating. Emma sighed, figuring that she was never going to get an answer, when a low voice came from the other side of the table. "Regina."

Emma looked up in surprise, but the sorceress continued to stare at her plate. "My name is Regina," she repeated.

They lapsed back into silence, each observing the other carefully underneath eyelashes, sizing each other up.

"Did David get back safely?" Emma asked, not realizing how much she was worrying about that until she had the witch in front of her to ask.

"Yes," Regina answered succinctly.

Emma nodded, before opening her mouth again. "Yeah, I know you're saying that, but how do I know he actually is?"

Regina glared at the impetuous blonde, but Emma held firm. Regina narrowed her eyes slightly, but decided she respected Emma's untrusting nature and determination to see after her brother more than she was annoyed by her presumption that Regina owed her anything. She lifted a hand and made a sort of waving motion.

A puff of purple smoke encircled it and then dissipated, leaving a mirror with a handle in her grasp. Regina held the mirror out to the blonde who had to stand up and lean pretty far over the table in order to reach in.

When she got a hold of it, she sat back down, staring at in confusion. What was a mirror supposed to do? It was heavy, high quality, probably real silver. There was an elegant design of an apple tree on the back. It was a very nice mirror, but Emma still failed to grasp what it had to do with David.

She looked back at the witch at a loss.

Regina sighed in exasperation, "Look into the mirror and say his name."

Emma huffed skeptically, but did as she said. "David Nolan." For a second nothing happened, but then the whole glass turned foggy with purple smoke until it cleared to reveal a picture, a moving picture. Emma stared at in fascination.

There in the glass was David. He looked tired, but otherwise fine, as he sat in what she recognized as one of the chairs at home. Next to him was Mary Margaret who looked upset. They seemed to be talked animatedly and Emma realized they were probably talking about her. She felt unexpectedly sad, seeing them together and knowing she would never be there with them again.

Still, it proved that David was home and safe. That's what mattered. "Thank you," she said in a low subdued voice as she set the mirror down next to her.

Regina nodded in acknowledgement. "I always keep my word."

Emma looked over at the strange being across from her, a sudden wave of anger coming over her. Yeah, and lock up random strangers in your creepy castle. Though who takes someone prisoner and then gives them a suite, assigns them a servant and feeds them very, _very,_ good food. Emma inwardly let out a sigh, her rage dissolving against her will. This lady made no sense. Emma tried not to let herself get interested in finding out what made her tick. That was a dangerous path. Besides, she was much too angry at her for kidnapping her, taking away her freedom.

Emma let herself get worked up in a cloud of anger again, staring intensely at her plate and not looking at the witch again.

Regina continued glancing at the blonde from the corners of her eyes, secretly just as interested in her guest, though she kept an impassive mask on. How long would she keep this one around for?

A few minutes later Regina stood up, pushing her chair back. Emma finally looked up at her, green eyes stormy. "Dinner is every night at six. You may have other meals whenever you wish. However, if you skip dinner, you will not eat until the next dinner. Good night." And the witch vanished in her signature purple smoke once more.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma woke up slowly, blinking in confusion. She was somewhere very warm and very soft. She groaned, burying her face back into the pillow. Whatever time it was, was too early.

Wait a minute… Her bed was not particularly soft or warm. Where the heck was she? She shot up, her blonde hair in disarray.

As she surveyed the glamorous room around her, she slowly got her bearings, and remembered where she was. Right, the witch's castle. Her memories came flooding back.

Pongo coming home, travelling through the forest, searching the castle, finding David, meeting the witch, meeting Ruby, and eating dinner.

After the witch had left, Ruby and a good number of other servants came out to have dinner as well. Ruby introduced her group of friends: the tea pot—her grandmother although everyone called her 'Granny', Archie—a cricket, Kathryn and Fredrick—both gold figurines, Henry—a stone statue, August—a puppet, and a group of seven garden gnomes.

They were all surprisingly nice and welcoming. While Emma still wasn't thrilled with being captured—at all—she was aware that things could be far, far worse—in fact, she'd been in worse situations. Situations where she had been in physical danger, alone, hungry, cold or some combination, if not all, of the above. If she could get through all that, she could make it through this.

Weight shifted on the bed and it took her a second to realize it wasn't hers. She turned quickly, nearly giving herself whiplash. She gave a sigh of relief when she recognized the black and white coat of Pongo. "Hey, boy," she said giving him a scratch behind the ears.

He had found her when she and Ruby were heading back from dinner as Emma couldn't find her rooms on her own. Emma had assumed Pongo had been sent back with David, but apparently not. She tried not to be too happy that he wasn't home with David, but she couldn't help it. It was too good to see a familiar face, er, muzzle. That reminded her, she should go see to Jaune too. She wondered if Philippe, the horse David had taken, was still here as well.

The witch said she had free range of the castle, right? Well, she was definitely going to take advantage of that. She whipped off the covers and stretched. She went over to the wardrobe, but it was still full of dresses, so she put her own clothes back on.

She was going to head straight out to see the horses, but her stomach gave a growl of protest and she realized that she had no idea where to look anyway. She was pretty sure she could find her way back to the dining hall and maybe from there she could find the kitchens. Surely, Ruby or someone could show her outside.

She was only halfway there when Ruby caught up with her.

"Hey Emma," she said cheerfully. "And Pongo," she added with an affectionate scratch on the head for him.

"Hey, Ruby." They began walking side-by-side—hopefully toward breakfast. "Do you know where my horse is? And David's?"

"Probably the stables." Emma gave the wolf-girl a look. "But you probably guessed that," she said with a laugh. "I don't usually go there—the horses don't like me." She leaned over as if confiding a secret, "I think it might be the whole 'part wolf' thing," she said with a grin.

"Maybe," Emma grinned back at her.

"But Henry loves the horses," Ruby continued. "He can take you over after breakfast."

"Awesome."

-x-x-x-x-

Breakfast was just as good as dinner. Emma could barely stop from overstuffing herself. Henry was only too happy to show her to the stables. He seemed the most excited out of all of them about having a visitor. Emma tried not to find his childish enthusiasm endearing and failed miserably. The kid was too cute for his own good.

He was practically skipping as he led her through the maze that was the castle, asking rapid fire questions and then not even giving her a chance to answer.

When he finally paused for a breath and looked at her eagerly, she couldn't resist and launched into a description of the city she was from. He was the perfect audience, hanging on to every word she said. By the time they actually reached the stables, he was looking at her as if she was coolest person in the world. She smiled proudly, glad he was so easily impressed—it certainly helped her ego.

Soon though, it was her turn to be impressed as they rounded the corner of the courtyard and before her stood a stable fit for, well, a Queen she supposed. She openly gaped at it. Henry smiled at her, and tugged her closer.

The stables were large and beautifully made, wonderful carvings of horses adorned the open doors with hinges polished to a brilliant shine. The castle looked well cared for once lit up, but these stables _shone_.

Henry was babbling again. "The stables are really cool, don't ya think? The workers here are always busy. Your horses are probably somewhere here, right? Where else would they have gone. I like the big black ones, but the white horses are neat too. I can't wait til I can ride them," for the first time his cheerful attitude faltered as he led her down a row of very fine horses. He frowned and she looked down at him in confusion. "I can't ride now cuz I'm too heavy."

Emma remembered that he was indeed a little stone statue and not a flesh and blood boy. He acted so like one she had almost forgotten. She supposed even a little stone boy was still made of stone. Her heart went out to him, "You can ride in a cart, though, right?"

He sighed, "I guess, but it's not the same."

Emma privately agreed. "Come on, help me find Juane. And Philippe came with David. You'll help me look, right?"

He nodded eagerly, "Yeah!"

-x-x-x-x-

It took them a good hour to find her horses. The stable wasn't just one building, but many and Henry kept stopping to point out things and she found herself surprised by the pure splendor of the place. Maybe it was a strange thing to say about the stables, but they were magnificent. Every bit of metal was polished to a mirror-like shine, every piece of leather was of the finest quality, and even the food troughs looked like they were marble.

Stranger still were all the servants bustling about. The castle seemed so large compared to the admittedly good number of servants who had eaten dinner with them last night, after the witch left, but Emma had been surprised to hear that those were the only castle servants. It seemed too few to take care of the giant castle.

Here though, there were almost the same number of servants for the entire castle dedicated the stables. They all seemed to be life-size wooden puppets, scarecrows or strange stuffed mannequins—like those found in a dressmaker's shop. They were certainly a busy group, always cleaning out stalls, taking horses in and out and other general stable work. None of them said anything to her, but she could feel their eyes on her whenever she wasn't looking. She tried to tell herself it was just because she was new—and human—but it felt like more than that. She tried her best to ignore the oppressive feeling of being watched, but it was a challenge and very unnerving.

She couldn't relax until they finally found both of her horses in stalls next to each other. Juane, naturally, merely looked at her as if wondering what had taken her so long. He looked right at home as he munched hay in his fancy stall and blew at Philippe next door as if to say 'I told you she'd find us'.

She quickly went in and greeted them, fussing over the familiar animals. Feeling much better for seeing them, she introduced Henry, who both animals found strange but accepted him once she reassured them.

She and Henry had a good time taking them out. They found a place to exercise them, a large corral. Henry cheered as she rode them around and a number of servants, while not stopping to stare, certainly seemed to walk past very slowly. Emma was able to put them out of her mind as they rode around, finally feeling like she had some control over her situation.

By the afternoon, she was starving and lunch had been sent out to them. They had a nice picnic before taking the horses back in for a rub down.

-x-x-x-x-

As Emma sat down to dinner, she grinned at the smells. God, the food here was awesome. Spending the day with Juane, and Henry, had relaxed her a great deal. Even the Queen's stony yet somehow disapproving silence didn't bother her much.

Emma was even more determined to make conversation than the night before; she wanted to find out everything she could about this place and the witch. "So, you're some kinda witch, right?"

Regina frowned. "I prefer sorceress. Or Queen," she added pointedly. "Witch is much more…derogatory."

"Right, cuz only upstanding people imprison people against their will."

The witch glared, which her purple eyes made particularly intimidating. "You broke into my castle."

"Well, you took my brother!"

"Who also trespassed on my lands! You're lucky I didn't incinerate him."

"Yeah, right." Emma called her bluff. Come on, transporting and throwing things around was one thing. But _incineration_? Melodramatic much.

As if sensing her guest's disbelief, the witch gave her a wicked grin. She held up a hand and made a strange gesture, as if she were holding something circular in her hand. Right as Emma was about to make a comment about the fact that nothing was there a large fireball appeared, completely engulfing the furred hand.

Emma immediately jumped back, "Holy shit!"

Regina smiled sweetly, "Would you prefer lightning?" Before Emma could say she was quite fine with the fire, the ball was replaced with purple lightning.

Emma leaned further back into her chair, breathing heavily, eyes locked onto the ball of lightning. A spark came off and landed on the table, leaving a small singe mark. Regina frowned and closed her hand, making it vanish.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Emma asked.

Regina chuckled darkly, "Wouldn't you like to know." Emma wanted to respond by saying, of course she wanted to know—that's why she asked—but the sight of the fire and lightning the witch had held casually in her hand was enough to make her hold her tongue.

The witch took a sip of wine, clearly enjoying the effect she'd had on the cocky blonde, "You know, you're rather talkative for a prisoner."

"And I would suppose you'd know all about that."

"I suppose I would."

Emma frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Had the witch imprisoned people before? And if so, what had happened to them? "You've, uh, had other prisoners here before?"

Regina raised an eyebrow, "Yes."

"And, uh, where are they now?"

"Gone."

"Gone?"

Now, she was beginning to tire of this conversation, not liking the reminder of her past guests. "Yes," Regina snapped. "Gone."

That effectively ended the conversation for the rest of the night. Emma had tried to ask the servants about who she had been referring to, but they were closed lipped about it and all she'd been able to discover was that one was a man and one was a woman and they had been there at different times. No one would tell her anymore than that, not even what had happened to them.

-x-x-x-x-

The next day, Emma worked very hard not to dwell on her disturbing dreams of the witch setting faceless people on fire. Instead she spent another day at the stables, focusing on Juane and Henry in an attempt to keep calm. It mostly worked.

By the time dinner came around, the only visible sign of distress was a compulsive swallow when she sat down and a slightly more hesitant attitude.

Still, the silence bothered her more than what else she might learn, and Emma had never been one to quit while she was behind. "So, how come I've never heard of this place? Seems like it'd be kinda hard to conceal a giant magical castle."

"Magical is the operative word in your question. The castle exists in its own time stream."

Emma just stared at her.

The witch huffed before continuing. "Time passes differently here, in the castle, than outside of it. Many years have passed since it was…enchanted—about two hundred years, give or take."

Emma dropped her fork. "You've been like this for over two hundred years! How can anyone even live that long!"

"I said time passed differently. It has been more like thirty years for us in the castle. The castle…connects with the normal flow of time for a couple of years before…jumping forward in time a couple decades. Something to do with keeping us all exactly the same age for all of these years."

Emma gaped at her. She tried to sort through all she had just been told. "So….you've been like this for a while."

"Correct."

"And the castle is in some magical time lock thing and _nothing_ here ages."

"Yes."

Emma stamped down her terror. When the witch first told her she would have to stay here forever, she had thought that was said more for dramatic effect than anything concrete. Now it seemed as if it was actually possible.

Emma began looking around for anything to distract her from the claustrophobic feeling that was beginning to overwhelm her.

Instead, her gaze landed on the witch's plate. Suddenly she could see that it was full of meat so undercooked it looked red. Her gaze followed the piece the witch delicately brought to her mouth, skewering it with a claw and not a fork as she had first thought.

The small dot of red that came down her mouth was not in fact sauce as she had also expected, but blood.

Emma began to feel sick to her stomach. She gulped, it was all too much. "I'm sorry. I need to go." This time it was she who stood up and left abruptly—leaving her host staring after her in confusion.

What had that been all about?

-x-x-x-x-

The next morning Emma was preoccupied with the idea of never leaving this castle, of being stuck here for all eternity with its witch-beast mistress.

Granny had told Henry that he needed to help with things today and so it was just her and the horses. Honestly, it was a rather welcome break, Emma had always been more of a loner.

She moved far slower than normal, head spinning in circles until Juane finally had enough when she had saddled him wrong, and nearly stepped on her foot in protest.

Sheepishly, she was brought back to herself and decided what they both needed was a good long run. She'd seen what might have been some trails off to the side.

They set off exploring down a long trail. It was remarkably freeing, focusing just on herself and her horse. The path ended up looping back around to the castle with plenty of time before dinner.

The combination of the great ride and the long bath afterwards did a lot to make Emma feel like herself again. She headed to dinner refreshed and starving.

-x-x-x-x-

After all but attacking her own food for a solid number of minutes, Emma slowed down enough to start a conversation again. "So…Is this really your castle?"

"Excuse me." Regina looked affronted. First the blonde had left abruptly the previous night, then she'd all but ignored her for the first part of the meal—eating with rather atrocious manners, might she add—and now… "What is that supposed to imply?"

"Well, you're a witch." Emma shrugged as if that explained everything. "You could have just stolen the castle with, you know, magic."

Regina's face contorted in rage. How dare she! "This is my castle! I am the Queen by right, not because I’m some sort of thief."

"So like, your parents were the King and Queen before you?"

The witch gritted her teeth. "No."

"Then you did steal it," Emma said triumphantly.

"No," she snapped. "I did not. I was married to the King whose family ruled before him." Regina stabbed her food rather viciously; she hated thinking about her husband. Why did the stupid little blonde interloper have to bring him up?

"Oh…so what happened to him?" Emma looked around, as if the King might suddenly appear.

"He died." It was easily the coldest she had ever heard the witch's voice—and that was saying something. Emma shivered, why did she suddenly think his death had _not_ been accidental?

They ate the rest of their dinner in frigid silence.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So what's the deal with the King?" The Queen had left a few minutes ago and so the rest of the servants had come out to eat.

Her companions looked around uneasily. "Why do you ask?" Archie said slowly.

Emma shrugged, "When I asked at dinner it just seemed like there was a story there."

The group went dead silent. Ruby was the first to regain the ability to speak. "You asked her about the King?"

"Yeah…was that bad?" The looks on their faces answered her question for them. "Crap."

"It's alright," Granny tried to reassure her. "You didn't know any better. At least we'll know what to expect for the next few days. I should plan on making her favorites…"

Ruby answered Emma's unasked question. "The Queen hates being reminded of the King. It always puts her in a bad mood."

 _You mean so far she's been in a_ good _mood?_ Emma thought with a shudder. "Why? What's the story here?"

The others exchanged looked. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you," Archie said before turning to Granny. "You remember it best."

"Alright." She cleared her throat and began, everyone giving her their full attention even though they all knew the story except for Emma. "There was a Queen before her, Queen Eva. Her and the King were deeply in love, but Queen Eva passed away before her time—in childbirth.

"The King was lost in sorrow for many years until he finally began to look for a new Queen. However, none were deemed worthy."

"Then one day, the King's horse spooked and went on a wild run. None could catch up and it was all the King could do to hold on. Then, out of nowhere, a beautiful young lady on her own horse caught up to them. She managed to slow his horse and pull him off safely.

"The woman was glad he was alright and got his horse back for him—not even knowing he was the King. Later that day, he came to her estate. The King proposed to her on the spot, given that she had saved his life and was the daughter of a distant royal from the south and a rich merchant's daughter; he knew would find no one better. They were married within a fortnight."

"They were married for a number of years until the King died." She hesitated for the first time and leaned forward, her voice lowering. "There were rumors that the Queen had something to do with it. That she may have poisoned him. These accusations were highlighted in the ensuing conflict over the throne. You see, they had no children and therefore who should rule was in dispute."

"The Queen asserted that it was her kingdom by right as Queen. But another faction of the court claimed the throne should go to the King's niece, Snow. With no children of his own, he had doted on the girl whenever she would visit—especially since his brother had married Queen Eva's sister and it was said Snow looked remarkably similar to the first Queen."

"Regardless of the reasons, she was the second daughter of a neighboring land to the north and without a throne of her own. There began first a political battle followed by a few rather violent skirmishes in disputed territory. Finally though, after over a year of conflict within and outside the court, the Queen came out victorious."

"Do you think she did it?" Emma had been utterly riveted by the tale. "Killed the King, I mean."

Granny frowned. "I don't know what I think. She has always been a great mystery, even before his death. And after she seemed more…fierce, certainly angrier. Still, I was simply an assistant housekeeper. Before the curse I'd seen her only from a distance and spoken to any of the royals only once. It's not our place to guess and make wild accusations. In fact, I think that's enough storytelling for tonight. Time for bed," she looked at Henry and August in particular.

When the boys began to protest Granny sent them a slightly pleading look. Emma got and stood up, stretching and yawning, "Yeah, come on Ruby—I'm beat."

Ruby caught on and yawned loudly as well. "Same. Night everyone."

They began to make their way to their rooms and could hear Granny cajoling the boys into bed over their yawning protests.

Once they were out of earshot, the pair grinned at each other, "I really am tired though," Emma admitted.

"I know, me too. Granny's stories always make me sleepy."

"Sooo," Emma drawled and Ruby looked over to her questioningly. "What do think happened?"

"You mean with the Queen and the King?"

Emma nodded.

Ruby shrugged, "I don't know, but I mean everyone saw the change in the Queen after the King died. Before she was practically part of the scenery. After, she took control of everything, started wearing black—supposedly for mourning—and tightened up on all the rules around here."

Ruby furrowed her brow, "I mean, she wasn't like skipping around happy or anything after his death—but she was very different and she did not seem particularly sad either. Personally," Ruby confided, "the part of the story I find strange is how the King's horse went wild when they just happened to be passing by the Queen's home and she just happened to be there to save him. I mean, the King was not a horse rider, that's true, but because of that he always got the most patient, almost dull, horses we had. A strange beast to go wild."

"So, what? You're saying you think the Queen purposely set herself up to save the King so he would ask to marry her?" Emma's thoughts were spinning at that insinuation, that the Queen had purposely lured the King to proposing and then killed him afterwards to become Queen herself.

Ruby shrugged again, "All I'm saying is that's a pretty big coincidence. No one here even knew the Queen until they'd been married, she brought no one from her own household. Both of her parents vanished as well—soon before the King died. And while now she's a beast, she's always been a witch."

They reached Emma's rooms then and exchanged quiet 'good nights' before Emma slipped through her door. She couldn't stop thinking about all she'd learned that day. Ruby clearly viewed this all as gossip, juicy gossip, but nothing too serious or much beyond a wild story. Emma on the other hand did not. It was one thing to be held by a rude, stuck-up queen. It was an entirely different story to be held by a manipulative witch who most likely murdered her husband that she may have tricked into marrying her in the first place!

She had been telling herself that this place was strange, but overall not very dangerous. Now though… She pictured the witch's sharp claws and sharper tongue, with her hypnotizing eyes and strange demands. Before it had been intimidating, but interesting. Now it was frightening and dangerous.

Emma's thoughts swirled for the rest of the night and she barely got any sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"So what exactly was this war like? I've never heard of it so it couldn't have been that serious." Emma asked, purposefully casual as she ate lunch with Ruby, Granny, and Archie the next day.

Granny gave her a disapproving look, "It was very serious, but it was long ago for the rest of the world and you are young."

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, we lost a lot of people, both sides did. There were a bunch of battles, magic on both sides."

"Really?" Emma asked.

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, the Queen felt very strongly about the war and to make sure she was victorious, she often fought on the front lines."

Emma's eyebrows went up. "Isn't that kinda dangerous?"

"Yes," Archie said, "but despite advisors telling her she needn't be so close to the danger, she wouldn't listen."

Granny shook her head, "You young people always feel so invincible. It was only luck that she managed to survive."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "It wasn't luck. It was magic. The Queen is formidable. She probably took out over a quarter of all the rebels all on her own."

Emma's jaw dropped, "Geez. How strong is she?"

Granny frowned, "She's one of the strongest witches I've ever heard of and after the war, everyone knew it. Between her victories in battle and then all the executions after—no one questioned her right to rule anywhere they thought she might hear of it."

Emma swallowed, "Executions?"

Archie nodded gravely, "Yes, a number of people in our land decided to support Princess Snow of the White Kingdom's claim to the throne. When the initial contest was still political, they had the opportunity to move to the White Kingdom to live and wait out for who would end up ruling. After actual fighting broke out though, the Queen imprisoned anyone who opposed her own rule. Once the war was at its peak, she began rounding up serious dissenters and spies and having them executed."

Emma's eyes widened. Archie nodded and continued, "She then rewarded the ones who stayed loyal to her with the lands of the ones who disagreed. The few who lived after the war was finished were stripped of titles, if they had any, and banished."

"Our land has not had such a great upset in centuries. It was a very frightening time—never knowing who would still be around and who would end up hanging."

"That's horrible." Emma was shocked. So far she'd only really read about war in books, but these people had lived it. The kingdom she lived in previously hadn't itself been to war in decades. Sure, there were fights and such in the city, but war? She shuddered; rulers to her were mainly faceless people in fancy clothes, but here… She knew exactly who it was, cold purple eyes shining in her mind.

Ruby seemed to pick up on Emma's discomfort, "But that was a long time ago. No more war, no more executions. No one's died here since the curse."

Emma smiled at the effort, but excused herself anyway. She wasn't very hungry anymore.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So," Emma began at dinner, "some of the people here were telling me about the war."

Regina looked at her skeptically, "Really?"

Emma frowned, "Yeah, why?"

Regina just scoffed and gave a small shrug, "People shouldn't talk about things they don't understand."

"What do you mean 'not understand'?" Emma asked. "They were there!"

"That's all you think here is to it? They were alive while it happened?" Regina rolled her eyes. "Yes I'm sure the cook and the bug are very well informed about the war. Tell me, where did they serve? What battles did they fight in?"

Emma scowled. "Just because they didn't fight in it doesn't mean they can't know about it and understand what happened."

"Hm," was the Queen said as she leaned back on her throne, sipping her wine. "I'm sure."

"Well then you tell me, if you're so smart." Emma inwardly winced when she realized what she'd said. Oh no, that was not going to go over well.

Sure enough, the Queen stiffened straight up in her chair and glared at Emma so fiercely she had to resist the urge to make sure she wasn't on fire. "Do you ever think before you speak? You know nothing about my kingdom or my war and neither do I owe you any sort of explanation," she spat. "All you need to remember is that you are trapped here. You so quickly forget that I am the Queen and you are the prisoner. Do not forget your place!"

Emma glared at her, but kept her mouth shut.

"Now you remember." Regina snarled, standing up, suddenly seeming much larger than she had before as she began to give off a purple glow. "Insolent little girl." Her voice was dripping with contempt and it was that tone that made Emma stand up, unable to stop herself from fighting back, but the witch was already gone.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Later that night, Emma was having trouble getting to sleep, until she finally threw off her covers and started to pace. This situation was starting to get more dire by the second. She could not stay trapped at this castle with some crazy witch for the rest of her life!

The room began making her feel claustrophobic and so she decided to take a walk. Only when she got to the door, it was locked. Emma frowned and pulled, but it didn't budge. Trying not to panic, she grabbed her lock picks. She began working on the lock when suddenly the picks grew hot. She dropped them with a yelp and as she shook out her hand, she saw them on the ground, half melted.

Emma gave up all semblance of calm and began banging loudly on the door, trying to knock it down, as she shouted for someone to come.

No one did.

Eventually she collapsed, hands numb from hitting the door and her shoulder screaming from the number of times she slammed into the door, trying in vain to break it down. She curled up in front of it, tears running down her face until she fell asleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Despite Emma's very late night, she still woke up at her usual time, the sun rather insistent. Her hands and shoulder were still sore, but manageable. She tried very hard to push her memories of last night to the back of her mind and went about as if everything was normal.

When she went to leave that morning, the door opened easily. She was rather quiet at breakfast but no one commented on it.

Henry didn't seem to even notice her silence was unusual as he chattered on. She could barely focus on what he was saying when it finally cut through her cloud of thoughts.

"—so you're gonna save us from the curse! I know it!" Henry said excitedly.

"Um…wait, what?"

"You know, the curse on the castle. You're the Savior, aren't you?" he looked up at her with stone eyes that seemed to plead.

"Look, kid, I'm no Savior," Emma began to feel nervous, she couldn't save anyone—she couldn't even save herself. She was just a street kid from the city. Emma was nobody.

He gave her a look like she was purposely being slow, "Yes, you are. You're destined to come and break the curse—setting all of us free. You're the Savior."

"I don't wanna burst your bubble, but I'm really not here to save anyone. I was captured and am being held against my will, remember?" She couldn't even leave her room at night. There was a reason Emma was only responsible for herself, she couldn't handle anyone else—she could only barely take care of herself, something her current situation brought into question. She'd only let someone else down.

Henry didn't even seem to hear her, "You'll see. Just ask Granny. She knows too."

Emma just shook her head and continued walking.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Emma came back in for lunch by herself, not wanting to let on how unsettled the kid's words had made her. Still, she couldn't help ask, "Do you know why Henry keeps saying I'm some kinda 'savior'?"

Granny nearly spilled the tea she'd been pouring for Emma.

Emma blinked in surprise, "You do know what he's talking about."

"Yes, well." She began fussing with the tea trays and barking orders at the stove. "It's really nothing."

Emma crossed her arms, "Try again."

Granny sighed, "Alright. As you've noticed, this castle is enchanted."

Emma rolled her eyes, well duh. Then she frowned. "But it's not 'enchanted', is it? It's cursed. That's why you're all like this."

Granny managed to nod, "Yes. The castle and all its inhabitants were all cursed from their human forms and into these strange ones. About thirty years ago."

"Right, she had said something like that… the witch is cursed too."

"Yes, she's the one who is truly cursed, we were cursed with her because we lived in her castle. She, like all of us, used to be human, though still a powerful sorceress."

"Why? Who cursed you?"

"Truthfully, we don't know much as the Queen won't talk about it. But we have been able to piece together a story."

Granny cleared her throat, "Once upon a time, an old woman came to the castle, looking for a place to stay for it was a frigid and stormy night. However, the Queen refused to let her in and sent her on her way, despite the weather, because the poor woman had nothing to offer to her, but a single apple."

"After failing to persuade the Queen to let her stay, the old woman revealed herself to be the Blue Fairy. She condemned the Queen for being selfish, prideful, greedy, and cruel, and so she cursed the Queen into a bizarre creature—to make her as twisted on the outside as she was on the inside. She trapped her on her own lands for the rest of her days, doomed to a life of misery that she had inflicted upon herself."

"Wow," Emma said. "Kind of an overreaction."

Granny shrugged, "Possibly, the Queen could simply have let her stay as well. There is probably more to the story that'll we'll never know. The nobility were cursed into portraits and a large number of the staff changed into non sentient animals or objects. Only a few of us remained able to keep the castle running."

"But why does Henry think, I'm gonna like, save everyone or something?"

"Well, he most likely believes you're here to break the curse and free us all." Granny wouldn't meet her eyes now, probably on purpose.

"What?! How the hell would I be able to do that? I don't have magic, I can't break some curse that was cast before I was even born!" Emma stood back from the table hastily.

"It's alright, no one besides the boys think so." Granny said, trying to reassure the blonde.

She seemed to see how upset this was making Emma, and was trying to calm her down, but Emma could tell she was lying. She did believe Emma could save them all, and if Granny believed, everyone else probably did too. Emma tried to calm her racing heart down. "I have to go."

-x-x-x-x-x-

When Emma showed up at dinner that night, she was unusually subdued. She kept her attention focused on her plate, barely looking up.

Regina frowned at the strange attitude of her guest. She was already in a foul mood—it was the anniversary of that day—she almost hadn't come to dinner. She had a rather bad habit of wanting everyone else to be as aggravated as she was so she sneered, "What? No pointless questions tonight?"

Emma automatically looked up with a glare, "What's so pointless about trying to find out more about the person imprisoning me in some crazy magical castle?"

Regina returned the glare, "You should consider yourself lucky I'm even allowing you to live, let alone as well as you are."

"What? I should be _grateful_ for that? Oh yeah, thank you _so_ much, _your majesty_ , for not killing me on the spot for no reason and allowing me to be trapped in this godforsaken place for all eternity!" Emma was breathing heavily as she glared at the witch across from her.

"You are such an ignorant child!" Regina spat. "I can still change my mind, you know? Perhaps you'd prefer a cell!"

"God, you are such a bitch!" Emma leapt to her feet, slamming her hands down onto the table with a loud crash as dishes clanged together.

At that, Regina stood up as well, bending over the table, so that her face was only a few inches from Emma's own. "And you, Miss Swan," she hissed, eyes glaring daggers, "are an uncouth, barbarian with no sense, self preservation, or dignity who insists upon being an overwhelming fool who can't seem to keep her mouth shut and clearly has a death wish!"

Emma was actually rather shocked by the number insults that had just been leveled at her.

Regina leaned back slightly, "I have no desire to stay in the company of such a person. Do not test my patience further for you are very close to the edge of a very high cliff." She punctuated that last word with a magical shove that landed her back in her seat, before the witch vanished in a cloud of smoke that left behind the smell of burned wood.

Emma stared at the spot where the witch had stood before standing up again, still full of pent up frustration and marched from the dining hall, ignoring Ruby's calls for her to come back.

The nerve of that witch. Emma hated how she always just left whenever they started to argue, it always left her feeling tense and frustrated. And how dare she use magic against Emma, shoving her around! Emma stormed around, no destination in mind. However as her anger left her, the unsettled fear that had been building came back.

She tried to shake it off, but that didn't help and she began to realize she had nowhere to go, nowhere to escape to.

And as the feeling of being trapped intensified, Emma Swan did what she usually did when things started to spin out of control. She decided to do something reckless and dangerous, something like changing her direction and veering right at the landing of the stairs—straight into the forbidden West Wing.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma was glad she had grabbed a torch at the last second because this part of the castle seemed particularly dark. Ever since she'd been to dinner the first night, the candles and torches lit up for her when she walked around the castle—except here.

That was probably a good thing though, because a lot of the candelabras were knocked over or missing candlesticks. There was a surprising amount of dust in this part of the castle, unlike the rest of it. Maybe no one, not just her, was allowed over here. But why would the servants be banned from one part of the castle?

Emma frowned as she slowly walked down the dark and desolate corridor, her footsteps making almost no noise due to the thick carpet. She shivered; it was also much colder than the rest of the castle. The castle was strange, but once she had met the servants it was fairly obvious it wasn't abandoned like she had first assumed. The West Wing though…it felt haunted.

The corridor ended in a large, rectangular room. The walls all down the length of it were covered paintings and tapestries. Emma moved closer. Men seemed to be on the right and women on the left—perhaps the ones across from each other were couples?

There seemed to be a resemblance between many of them, dark brown hair, a stern look, something about the nose… They were definitely nobles of some sort, the rich dress was evidence enough of that. She wasn't sure she liked the look of the family, though. Something in their hazel eyes was just a bit too unyielding for Emma's taste, a bit too much pride in their eyes, like they never forgot for even a second they were nobles. She knew that type, the ones who put titles before people. She always made sure to stay away from ones like that in the city.

The tapestries were very well made, interspersed every two or three portraits. They seemed to depict particularly dramatic scenes and she thought it might look like they featured a person or two from the portraits they were near.

Emma skipped around the room, focusing more on the tapestries than the portraits. It was only when she got to the end that something broke the pattern and organization of the room.

She gasped in surprise when the last few pieces of art came into view. These portraits and tapestries had been _attacked_. There was no other word for it. Deep claw marks obscured the man's face in each of the next three portraits although she was pretty sure that they were of the same man, perhaps the last of the line?

She looked across to the woman's portrait opposite and saw that that one was on the floor, ripped from the wall and with a large whole where the face should be. She bent to pick it up, frowning at the coating of dust, turning it over she couldn't make out anything beyond that the woman was dark haired and most likely very beautiful.

The next portrait of a woman bore claw marks, like the man's had, but Emma was pretty sure this was a different woman, her skin was tanner than the previous woman's. The claw marks had destroyed much of the picture, but her eyes… Dark chocolate eyes, stared out from the painting. The look in them was different than the other gazes that had followed her around this room. It wasn't proud or haughty or triumphant like most of those had been, these eyes were full of sorrow and loneliness, the sort of sorrow that made Emma want to reach out to comfort her.

Emma averted her eyes, as if the woman's pain was a private thing she shouldn't be witnessing. The tapestry beside her was ripped, the bottom three-fourths gone leaving only the tops of some trees and the sky. She lightly brought her hand up, skimming the ragged edges, before going back to the other side of the room.

Next to the ripped portrait was another, possibly the same man but older—it was hard to tell as the last few men had looked very similar. This one was burned; the paint had bubbled in some areas and was charred in others. Only the outer edge of a head could be seen, the graying hair making her think it was the same man only older.

The final tapestry on that side had long rips through it, slashes almost, as if some creature with very sharp nails had attempted to shred it. Emma shivered once more.

She left the room, grateful to leave it behind. She was beginning to regret coming here, but was far too curious and stubborn to turn back just because the décor was a little frightening. What was the reason this part of the castle was off limits? Because the queen hated some ruined paintings? Emma paused suddenly—of course, _she_ was the one who had ruined them. A mental image of those claws appeared to her and she thought of the destruction they had havocked on the art work. She tried not to imagine them doing the same to her flesh.

She continued down this hallway, wishing her torch didn't proclaim her presence so loudly, but knowing she couldn't find her way in the dark without it.

Of course, just as she thought that, she thought she saw some sort of light near the end of the hallway. She froze, before noticing the blue-ish tint to the light was more characteristic of a window and light from the moon than a torch like her own (or a fire ball). She slowly made her way towards it, realizing she had not passed a single window the entire time she'd been in this part of the castle.

The light was coming, not through a window, but an archway that led to a small open courtyard. The moon was full and bright, so she set her torch in an iron holder mounted on the inside wall. The courtyard was actually pretty nice. It had a large apple tree in the middle surrounded by a bench to sit on. It was peaceful and the castle walls protected it from any harsh winds, leaving only a light breeze to rustle the leaves of the tree.

Emma moved to sit on the bench, looking up at the tree. Emma was pretty sure there shouldn't be any apples on it this time of year, but there were a couple hanging from the branches. They looked bright red and shiny, no bruises she could see.

Her stomach saw fit to remind her she had left dinner rather hurriedly and she reached up to grab one, an apple sounding pretty perfect right now.

Just as her hand closed around one of the red fruits, an animalistic roar made her jump back, the apple left swinging slightly from its stem. The blonde looked around wildly for the source of the sound. Finally her eyes fixed on a pair of purple ones glaring from the shadows on the other side of the courtyard.

The witch stalked into view, fury evident in every muscle as she bared her teeth at the caught off guard blonde. "What do you think you're doing?" her voice was low and deadly.

Emma gulped, "I—I just…"

The sound of her trying to justify herself seemed to set the witch off. "NO!" She was suddenly much closer, only a foot or two from the circular bench, the tree all that was between them. "I told you to stay out of here! This was the only place I did not give you permission to wander! The rest of the castle—a most generous offer—and yet, not good enough for you, you silly little upstart!"

Emma started to back up, one step at a time as the witch prowled around the center tree. This had been a bad idea, a horrible, horrible, idea. The witch had scared her before for brief moments, but now Emma was terrified. The witch's voice was more commanding and condemning than ever before. Her eyes were glowing even more brightly and sinisterly than ever before and she was in fact giving off sparks!

The witch continued her tirade, her rage consuming her, "You come into my private wing, sneaking around, violating my personal courtyard! And then you attempt to steal from me! And not just anything, but one of my precious apples, which I value above all else!"

"I—I didn't mean—" Emma tried to defend herself, but she seemed unable to speak, unable to think. Adrenaline raced through her, urging her to flee and yet the witch's powerful gaze kept her frozen in place.

"You didn't mean to come here? The West Wing has only one entrance—the one I specifically forbade you from entering! Do not lie! You came here on purpose! Now you will leave! Get out! GET OUT!" She roared, further incensed by the blonde's feeble attempts to placate her.

A fireball grew in her palm and she threw it at the blonde. Emma yelped, ducking. She could feel its heat as it seared over her. She kept her eyes on the witch as she stumbled back, nearly tripping over her own feet. Another fireball zoomed at her and she moved hastily to the side as it burst on the stone wall of the castle.

A final burst of fire flew past her as she finally made it back into the hallway. Once inside, she managed to make herself turn around as she sprinted through the dark, not even managing to grab her dying torch.

-x-x-x-

It wasn't long after she had heard the large gate swing shut behind her with a loud and ominous clang that she began to regret her hasty and reckless departure.

She had raced blindly through the, thankfully straight, corridor of the West Wing, all the way back to the rest of the castle. But she hadn't stopped running there. She had continued until she'd reached her rooms where she threw open her door, grabbed her cloaked and left. Her sides had been on fire when she finally made it to Juane's stall, but she didn't even pause, panting as she saddled him up. They had left in a thunder of hooves, Juane picking up on her distressed state. They didn't slow until they had reached the woods on the other side of the gate.

The forest was far darker and more sinister than she had remembered—and it had seemed frightful enough in her memories. She really should have waited until daytime to run away. The moon was up, she knew, but a strange, thick fog obscured it, leaving the sky a vague grey.

She pulled her cloak more tightly around herself, and hunched closer to Juane. He too seemed to suddenly be unsure about what they were doing. She could feel the tension in him, his head jerking slightly as they ran down the path she could only barely see through the fog.

Strange noises distracted her as she tried to keep her scattered thoughts together. She tried to remember what direction she had originally come from, how she had found the castle in the first place, but her mind was uncooperative and could only recall the haziest notions. On top of that, the image of the furious witch still haunted her mind, a thrill of terror still lingering in the back of her mind. However, it was quickly being replaced by fear of what would happen now that she had managed to escape, how she would be able to get home and what was hiding in the mist, the noises getting closer as strange shapes and shadows moved in the distance.

She had only traveled into the woods for a few minutes when she first heard the distinctive growl. It was then yellow eyes peered at her from the distance, hungry eyes. She instantly set off in the opposite direction, only to find a similar pair of eyes. Fear shot through her as she finally identified the creatures that were slowly closing in around her: wolves.

-x-x-x-

Regina sat on the bench around her apple tree as she tried to collect herself. The girl had caught her off guard, her already foul mood had simply exploded at the sight of her reaching to take an apple from her beloved tree. She softly stroked its trunk, relieved she had gotten here before any of its fruit had been plundered. It was not just that she had cared for the tree since she was young. When the curse had been cast, it had been anchored to her tree, mainly for its connection to her and so any tampering with it could drastically throw things out of balance in her castle.

She sighed, she supposed Miss Swan couldn't have known better, but she still should not have been here. Could the woman not grasp even the simplest of rules?

The confrontation had helped her let off some steam though and she actually felt more herself than she had all day and as such, regret was beginning to build in her mind. She had not meant to lose her temper so. She tried to keep a tight rein on it over these past years because the curse had had a magnifying effect on her anger.

Regina had always had a temper, that was true, but it was never quite as devastating as it had become after she had been turned into this beast. Her magic got out of control, building up within her until she had to let it out, the rage blinding her to everything else going on. She had not had it overwhelm her so since the first few years of the curse.

Emma Swan just had a way of getting under her skin.

As she took a number of deep breaths, a strange feeling of dread began to build within her. Her senses suddenly sharpened as she tried to identify what the source was.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

-x-x-x-

At first it seemed like they might be able to out run the wolves, until one jumped out in front of the pair causing Juane to rear. Emma was unprepared for the sudden motion and fell off while Juane bolted, his eyes rolling in his head. He had managed to give a very hard kick to the wolf that had startled him though and it lay on the ground unmoving, but that still left the rest of the pack.

Emma shook her head and scrambled to her feet, fear surging through her. People she could fight and had fought before, but wolves? That was not something she could even hope to handle, particularly these creatures. As Emma crashed through the undergrowth she couldn't help but notice that these wolves seemed particularly vicious and smart, the way they had surrounded them before closing in. She wasn't an expert but she was pretty sure they were no ordinary wolves.

-x-x-x-

Regina strode into her chambers quickly, "Mirror. Show me Emma Swan." A picture appeared in the glass and her brow furrowed in confusion and then surprise. "That foolish girl…"

-x-x-x-

Emma ended up with her back against a sheer cliff wall, brandishing a large tree branch she had grabbed as a weapon. She spared a glance up and saw there was no way to climb. She cursed herself for not having a weapon bigger than her dagger. She swung at the wolf that jumped at her. There was a loud crack and a big piece of her branch broke off. She stared at it in dismay.

The wolves seemed to grin, as if they realized their prey was now truly theirs for the taking. They all moved closer, but one particularly big one came the closest, growling low in its throat when a form burst into the clearing and with a powerful strike batted it into a tree. It hit with a yelp and the rest of the wolves stopped in confusion.

A fierce challenging snarl came from her protector. As Emma took the figure in, she realized with a shock that it was the witch. What on earth was she doing here? Emma could barely comprehend what she was seeing, but she had certainly never been so grateful to see the Queen in her life.

The wolves got over their surprise quicker and seemed to grow angry, all releasing a deep growl as their fallen brother got back up. They moved to attack, sharp teeth bared. Regina's own teeth glinted in the moonlight as she sent purple lightning bolts at those at the back of the pack until they were all too close. She bodily threw back and clawed any that got within a few feet of her, demonstrating her fearsome strength. She was animalistic in her attacks, crouching low to the ground, battling ferociously.

It was a gruesome and bloody fight, but eventually most of the wolves had been slain and the remaining driven away. As the last one fled with a whimper, Regina remained crouched in a battle stance, ready to take on any others. Emma cautiously moved forward. "Queen Regina?"

Emma went over to her and carefully placed a hand on the queen's shoulder, turning her to face her. Regina stiffened at the contact, but didn't turn away. Emma was briefly trapped in her purple gaze, as always, before she dragged her eyes away. She gasped as she took the sorceress in. Her outfit was torn and ripped in many places. Blood coated her fur and her arms in particular had a set of deep cuts in them. "Regina…" she breathed again, this time in true concern.

Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she attempted to snap. "Just a little…." She tried to continue before her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped forward against Emma.

"Regina? Regina! Oh, shit," the blonde said as she tried to wake the brunette and get a better grip on her. But the sorceress's eyes remained shut.


	8. Chapter 8

Luckily for the blonde, Jaune overcame his panic and had come back to find Emma. While it made him nervous, he let her drape an unconscious Regina over his back to carry back to the castle.

When they returned, the servants were astonished at the state the pair was in—they were even surprisingly worried about their Queen. Emma and Granny managed to come up with everything they needed to help patch the prickly sorceress up.

Ruby and Emma had been able to move her into what Ruby told Emma was Regina's favorite sitting room. She had been laid out on the lounge chair, while Emma got everything together needed to bandage her wounds. They all agreed that it was best Emma do so, as none of the rest of them really had very dexterous fingers (or fingers at all in most cases) and left her to it. Just as Emma was about to start cleaning the claw marks, Regina awoke.

The sorceress let out a groan, a hand coming up to her head. What had happened?

"Hey," Emma said cautiously.

Regina jerked away from the sound, obviously disoriented and confused about where she was and who Emma was. Emma stayed perfectly still, as if Regina was a skittish horse, and gave her space.

Quickly, Regina realized the situation; slowly losing her tense posture as she blinked in surprise at the blonde crouched at her side. Right, she had seen the blonde being chased by the demonic wolves that guarded the border of her cursed lands from the rest of the world and had gone to fetch her. "Miss Swan," she said slowly. "You are uninjured?" She tried to put on her usual inscrutable mask, sitting stiffly, trying to act like nothing unusual had happened.

Emma raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Am _I_ okay? I'm not the one who took on a pack of crazy wolves by myself."

Regina scoffed, "You're only the one who provoked them into attacking. Besides, they were nothing."

"Oh, really?" Emma asked, skeptically, "Then what're those then?" She nodded to Regina's arms where deep gouges remained from the attack.

Regina looked down, her eyes widening a bit in surprise, the pain suddenly making itself known, but she still tried to play it off, "Merely a few scratches. Now, if you are alright, you may leave me."

Emma stared at her. The witch really was crazy if she thought Emma wouldn't help her after she had gotten herself injured because of her. "Yeah, right. I'm not going anywhere."

Regina's eyes narrowed as she bristled at the outright refusal. "Miss Swan—!"

"Don't you 'Miss Swan' me," Emma soaked the towel and made as if to press it against Regina's right arm.

Regina hissed, pulling away from her, "Stop. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes, "Obviously. But seeing as you're hurt," she talked faster when she saw Regina opening her mouth to object, "and I'm not and it's my fault you're hurt, I insist on helping." Regina glared and continued to sit very stiffly, but she moved back to the middle of the seat instead of pressed against the opposite arm.

"Both your arms are injured, so it will hurt to use them to clean your wounds. It won't hurt me at all though." Regina still didn't respond, continuing to look at the blonde with suspicious eyes, as if she must have an ulterior motive, but made no more moves to get away.

Emma slowly moved the cloth closer and, as gently as she could, pressed it to the claw marks. Regina let her, her eyes never leaving the blonde's face and while she made no movements, she couldn't control the hiss that escaped at the pressure on her wounds.

The cloth came away red and Emma dipped it back in the water, staining it a light pink. The wounds were pretty deep, she noticed as she carefully cleaned them. They had to be very painful, her esteem of the queen growing as she remained still and refused to make another sound.

The silence was starting to get to Emma though; the intense stare the sorceress was aiming at her was making it hard to resist the urge to fidget. She asked the first question that popped into her head. "How come you can't just, you know, heal yourself or something? With, like, magic?"

"I don't have that kind of magic. I might be able to manage a scratch, but not something like this." Regina said it as detached as she could, as if it was a weakness she didn't want to be admitting to, which perhaps to her it was. It didn't take a genius to realize that Regina was very uncomfortable with receiving help or admitting she was hurt.

Emma carefully tended to the wounds while Regina sat as still a statue. "Why did you save me?" Emma couldn't keep the question in any longer. The Queen had been completely furious with her when she had last seen her; then she appeared out of the blue and practically put her life on the line for her. Regina had no reason to help her and yet she put herself in danger just for her. Only David had done so in her entire life.

Regina's eyes flickered over to the blonde who kept her own gaze intent on her task as if she knew looking her in the eye would make Regina too self-conscious to answer. Regina sighed and looked back to the fire. "You are under my protection."

Emma glanced up at her in confusion, but Regina continued to stare into the flames.

"When I took you in here, you became a part of my castle, my people. That means your safety is my responsibility. That is the duty of a Queen. You were on my lands, one of my people, and you were in danger. That means it was up to me to make sure nothing happened to you."

Emma blinked at the surprisingly moving statement, as she began to wrap the bandages around her left arm; it spoke of an unusual sort of loyalty that Emma was surprised the Queen possessed. Nothing she witnessed so far really spoke to a side of the Queen that was…protective the way the statement implied. She supposed that making sure her people were cared for and giving Emma the rooms she had—as well as the freedom of the castle grounds did speak to a sort of graciousness that the Queen did not obviously demonstrate.

She had such a sharp tongue, but when Emma considered her actions only and with this recent rescue she found that the Queen's actions were actually rather upstanding. Although her attitude could still use some major improving.

"This amount of…" Regina began. "I'll heal in a few days at the most regardless."

"I thought you said you couldn't use magic to heal yourself."

"I can't," she said blandly. "However, one of the traits of my cursed form is rapid recovery from physical injuries."

Emma wasn't really sure how that wasn't magic, but commented on the other part of that sentence. "So it's true. You really are cursed." Emma wanted to finally get a straight answer from the witch about what exactly was going on in this castle.

Regina let out a brittle laugh, "Oh, I'm cursed alright. What story did you hear?"

Emma fidgeted a moment before relaying the story she'd been told. After she'd finished, she moved to Regina's other side to clean and wrap her other arm.

Regina seemed unconcerned and unsurprised at the less than charitable descriptions of her character. "Yes, that is the popular version of the tale."

"You mean there's another?" Emma figured challenging Regina to contradict the version she'd heard was the best way to get her to tell her her side.

"There is another side to every story," Regina said.

"So, what's the other story?"

Regina met her eyes firmly, clearly weighing her worth. Emma returned the gaze squarely, trying to let her genuine curiosity shine through. The Queen turned away before she began, speaking as though the story was not her own. "Once there was a young Queen. She had been through many heartaches and troubles in her days and so she did not trust easily. She was a terror to her enemies, but fair, if strict, to those who proved themselves loyal to her. Soon after a hard won war had ended, an old woman came to her castle, claiming to seek a place to stay. However, the Queen was well versed in magic, being a sorceress herself, and knew that she wasn't who she claimed to be. She refused the woman a place to stay.

The old woman then revealed herself to be the Blue Fairy, who had allied with the Queen's enemies many times. Now believing the rumors of the Queen's cruelty to be true and incensed at having been turned away, she cursed the Queen into a hybrid creature that none could look upon without fear and disgust; condemning the Queen and all her loyal subjects to be trapped in her lands and to remain there for the rest of time—alone, feared and isolated."

Even Emma had heard of the Blue Fairy, she cropped up in a number of legends, however… "But….I thought the Blue Fairy was a force for good. Why would she…?"

"Good?" Regina sneered, contempt in her voice. "She's _good_ alright, but she takes that to mean she can do no wrong, make no error. She is self-righteous and unmovable in her convictions. Unable to think she can be mistaken. Everyone is wrong sometimes, even _good_ fairies."

"I am not a nice person and I was harsh when I turned her away. I'm not disputing that. But being impolite doesn't mean bad. It does not make me evil. It does not give her the right to curse me and all my people to this endless, meaningless life. Surely, Miss Swan, you are aware of what _good_ people can do. Who punishes the innocent with the guilty? Who holds others accountable for one person's mistake?"

Emma frowned, that was a very good point. She always hated group punishments, a favorite tactic at one of the many orphanages she'd been moved around between in the city, and it was especially bad if the Blue Fairy had believed Regina was so bad and still cursed a bunch of other people to be stuck with her forever even though they hadn't done anything to deserve it.

Emma also knew how hard it was to trust people and let them in, even if they had the best of intentions. How long had it taken for her to stop thinking David had an ulterior motive whenever he tried to help her? Months? Years really. She could see how Regina's side made sense, for all that she'd probably been unnecessarily rude—that seemed to be her M.O. after all.

This wasn't the entire story though. "And what part of this whole thing makes Henry think I'm some kind of savior?"

Regina blinked in surprise, Emma had done even more digging than she had initially realized. "He is a young child," Regina dismissed with a wave of her hand and a slight shrug, trying to brush it off. "They are always looking for heroes."

Emma slowly shook her head, "He said it, but…I think some of the others believe it too."

Regina sighed; she had hoped that this wouldn't come up with the blonde herself, at least not so directly or so soon. She had hoped her staff could be more discreet than that, false hope apparently. Obviously she had forgotten who she was dealing with, "There is, supposedly, a clause in the curse—the same that is in all curses." Emma continued to stare at her blankly. "True love's kiss."

"Oh…" Emma blushed and had no idea how to respond, suddenly fascinated by everything in the room besides the witch.

Regina rolled her eyes at the response. "It's alright, dear. No need to worry— _I_ know that it's not possible. I won't make you kiss me."

Emma felt some relief at that, at least Regina didn't expect her to be her savior. She shoved the tiny niggle of disappointment (and slight annoyance at the Queen's obvious dismissal of her possibly being this 'savior') to the farthest corner of her mind. She frowned, "What do you mean?"

Regina looked at her questioningly, figuring the girl would be relieved. "I mean," Emma clarified, "You seem to be implying that you don't think anyone can save you."

"I am. No one can."

"But…can't anyone find true love?" Emma wasn't a hopeless romantic, but she would like to believe some day she might find someone who understood and accepted and loved her. Wasn't that what a true love was? Not a specific person, but a shared, true, love between two people who understood each other.

Regina looked surprised to hear the blonde say such a thing. She stared at her intensely before looking away. "I had a true love once. He was killed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Emma really hadn't expected that. Her discomfort with the situation she suddenly found herself in—the conversation having gotten rather personal, rather abruptly—caused her to continue to speak, as if to make up for stepping on the conversational land mine. "Was it the King? I—"

"No!" Regina whipped around. "Not _him_! Don't you dare mention the two in the same breath!"

Emma had somehow made an even bigger mistake. Stupid foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. "I'm sor—"

"You better be! Daniel was nothing like him!" Regina spat, her eyes full of purple fire—literally.

"I'm sorry!" Emma held her hands up in surrender, trying to placate the incensed witch.

Regina blinked and seemed to realize what she had been doing. She visibly collected herself, clearly trying to calm herself. She sat back down, unaware she had even gotten to her feet. "I apologize, Miss Swan," she smoothed the front of her dress down with her bandaged arm. "It seems this is still a sore a subject for me, even after all these years. My love was nothing like the man I was forc—like the man I married. I loved him before that, when I was young."

Emma could see she was trying to make up for her outburst by sharing—something she obviously found difficult to do consciously. Emma was more concerned with her own reactions; it was strange to be at once frightened by the other woman's temper and drawn to her at the same time. Regina's pain seemed to radiate from her when she spoke of both her former husband and her love, but now Emma could see that each was very different kind of pain.

That pain, combined with her story, scared her in a number of ways—mostly because Emma felt she was starting to truly understand Regina. It was so unusual for Emma to feel like she truly understood anyone who wasn't from the pages of a book that she had no idea how to react—not even David, or Mary Margaret for that matter, was someone Emma could find much in common with and yet this strange Queen was somehow beginning to strike her as a kindred spirit.

"I suppose this does tie in to something else I wished to speak with you about."

Regina's voice cut through her musings and Emma looked at her curiously.

"I wish to…apologize for my actions, earlier this evening. I did not mean for my temper to get such a tight grip of me." Regina was once more addressing the fireplace instead of the woman kneeling beside her. "It is a difficult day for me," she seemed to be prying the words out of herself, "And I have the unfortunate habit of taking that out on others. Although," she could not resist adding, "You should not have been in the West Wing—under any circumstances." She turned to look at Emma, her catlike face still managing to look stern and disapproving.

Emma had the good decency to look ashamed at that. "Yeah, well. I was mad—I do stupid things when I'm mad. I didn't mean to upset you," she rushed to explain, "Not really. I just… You said I could go anywhere else, which is enough to make me ridiculously curious, and then I got mad and I just couldn't help myself. I'm sorry."

Regina stared at her, the blonde meeting her eyes straight on—something few people had done even before she'd been made into a beast. Slowly she nodded, "They are my private rooms and no one is allowed in them, you need to respect that."

Emma nodded, her sheepish look sobering, "I will."

"Good. The apple tree is really what made me react so violently," Regina felt surprisingly talkative—so rarely did anyone ever attempt to make conversation with her that she found she was unused it, it was why their dinners were so awkward. She found the excitement of the evening had made her tired and less guarded than normal—and rather disinclined to care that she was as well.

"Why?" Emma asked, beginning to bandage her right arm, hoping that talking would distract the Queen from the pain her arms must be causing her.

"It is has been in my possession since I was a little girl and has weathered the many storms of my life with me. However, more than that, the curse of this place is anchored to it."

Emma looked up in surprise, what did that mean?

Regina saw the question in the blonde's clear eyes and answered without being asked. "Because of its connection to me, Blue chose to…attach the curse to it—making them linked. It's fruit is like it always was except that now it fruits all year round. Plucking an apple from it though, instead of waiting for it to fall on its own, would be a very bad idea. I was unaware of the consequences myself originally and the effects were rather disastrous. And that was in the beginning when the curse was strong. Now with so many years gone by, the tree slowly producing less and less fruit…"

"Shouldn't the curse weakening be a _good_ thing?"

"No, not in this case. The castle is now completely intertwined with the curse—one cannot survive without the other."

"Oh…" Emma finished up and leaned back on her heels, unsure of how to respond to what she had learned.

The look on Regina's face was particularly grave. She slowly shook her head, "No matter. It is none of your concern," Emma, for once, took that not as an offense or dismissive of her personally, but merely the Queen's way of saying it was her problem alone. "Can I trust you to not touch it, even if you for some reason feel the suicidal urge to venture into my private wing once more?"

It was a serious question, but this time Emma believed she might see something in the witch's purple eyes that spoke of a strange, but mischievous humor. "Yes, ma'am," she answered cheekily. "And you're all patched up for now."

"Oh." Regina looked down in surprise to see that both of her arms had been rather expertly bandaged. This time, Emma could practically _see_ Regina put on her regal mask and it was that moment it truly sunk in that it was in fact a mask. That there was a real woman under it. Regina's face closed, "I appreciated your assistance with this matter."

Emma appeared as unable to take thanks as Regina was able to accept help for the blonde shrugged and looked away. "Wouldn't have happened if I hadn't tried to run away."

"That is true," Regina tapped a finger to her chin in mock contemplation, this time there was definitely a teasing glint in her eye. "See that it doesn't happen again, Miss Swan."

Emma rolled her eyes; yeah, any plans for running away to be killed by demonic wolves had been thoroughly squashed.

"Good night," Regina said. And for once she waited for Emma to echo the farewell before disappearing.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma was sitting in her room after breakfast and messing in one of the drawers when she found the hand mirror from the first night. She ran her hands gently over the ornate mirror.

She stared into her own eyes before taking a deep breath and speaking as clearly as she could, “David Nolan.”

She held her breath, wondering if it would even work without the Queen there to make it so. But, within only a few seconds, it filled with purple smoke just as before, clearing to reveal David and Mary Margaret sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.    

She stared at them with some longing, familiar faces, familiar places. A small wave of sorrow went through her, but then it passed. Because now she had a plan. Now she knew that she wasn’t dealing with a crazy witch or an insane queen—she was dealing with a woman, Regina.

Witches and queens she didn’t know. But people she could handle, people can be reasoned with. Now she didn’t have to figure out how to escape, she had to convince Regina to let her go. And those were two entirely different situations. Especially since now she knew that at the very least the queen didn’t want her to die—evidenced by her rather badass rescue a couple days ago.

All she needed to do was work on that notion. If they became friends, then surely she wouldn’t keep her prisoner, right? It would take some time, the queen had walls more impregnable than those her castle, but Emma was fairly confident—she was rather skilled at scaling walls. A misspent youth of thievery was coming in handy once more.

She refocused on David and Mary Margaret, thinking she might even begin to see a bit of a bump developing under Mary Margaret’s dress. “Damn,” she thought aloud, “I wish I could hear what they were saying…”

The mirror swirled once more with purple and Emma frowned before shaking it. Was it broken? Maybe she could only look for a little while at a time? Or the witch had to be there for it to work longer?

Then the glass cleared once more, except…Emma’s mouth fell open. Except now she could hear them. “What the…?” she began before closing her mouth and listening.

 _“….just don’t know what else to do,”_ David was saying _. “They don’t believe me, I can’t go back by myself, and I can’t leave her there.”_ He sighed heavily and rested his head in his hands.

Mary Margaret soothingly rubbed his back, _“I know, honey. We’ll figure something out eventually.”_

_“I just hate the idea of her stuck in that horrible place with that crazy witch.”_

_“I’m so sorry I let her go, I should have come with her. Then maybe we’d all be home safe,”_ Mary Margaret admitted.

 _“Don’t say that,”_ David said fiercely. _“You couldn’t have known and I don’t think you coming would have made a difference anyway. To take on that witch we would have needed more than one extra person. We need an army. But these stupid villagers won’t listen!”_

 _“Hey,”_ Mary Margaret protested lightly, _“This_ is _my village. It’s a hard story to believe. They’re just afraid—especially since you didn’t exactly make it sound like an easy task. People would rather pretend to be ignorant and dismiss you than admit they’re cowards.”_

 _“That doesn’t make it right,”_ David said sadly.

_“I know, my love. I know. We will get her back though. We will find her. Family always finds each other.”_

_“I know,”_ David responded, calming down. _“I know. Right now our focus has to be on the baby. It’s what she wanted.”_

_“Yes, and once they’re here, we’ll have come up with a plan and we can rescue Emma.”_

_“You’re right. You always are. How’d you get to be so sensible?”_ David asked, his wife’s smile and confidence managing to pull him from the downward spiral his thoughts had begun to take.

 _“I’ve always been this sensible,”_ Mary Margaret said, turning up her nose, before looking side-long at him, _“After all, I managed to get you to marry me.”_

David laughed and shook his head, _“I think that’s evidence of the opposite, my love.”_

Emma watched for a few more minutes until they kissed goodbye and went about their separate days. It filled her with a combination of the new sorrow over missing them and a feeling that was not so new. Sure, they were cheesy around each other, but often she wished she had something like what they shared, the way they understood each other and wanted to same things. A partner.

She sighed once before shaking herself out of her thoughts. Her mind latched onto the first distraction she thought of: getting a message to David. The conversation had convinced her that, while it was good that she had a long term plan, she also needed a short term one.

David and Mary Margaret deserved to know she was safe and she wanted to ease their worry in any way she could. Getting a letter to them would help make sure that they worried less, blamed themselves less, and would hopefully make sure they didn’t do anything foolish. The idea of the couple ripped apart by those wolves made her shudder.

Plus, it would also be a good way to test out her overall plan. After all, if she couldn’t convince the Queen to let her send a letter, it was not very likely that she could eventually convince her to let her go.

-x-x-x-

“Something on your mind, Miss Swan?” Regina drawled as she studied the blonde across from her. Emma had finished eating a few moments ago and had switched to staring at her plate, pushing around some green beans. Occasionally she would look up or open her mouth before shutting it or looking away with a sigh.

The Queen wasn’t sure if she was more amused at the fidgeting, annoyed that she wouldn’t just say whatever it was, or suspicious as to whatever she might be up to that was making her so nervous. It was unusual especially since Emma was very rarely nervous—even when she probably should be.

The blonde froze at the question and looked up sheepishly, “That obvious?”

Regina merely lifted a furry brow.

“Right, well… I was thinking—” Emma began.

“Are you sure that an entirely safe pursuit for you to undertake?”

Emma scowled and actually had to resist the urge to stick out her tongue. What was it about the Queen that made her want to act like a five year old? This would never work if she didn’t stop letting the brunette rile her up. She took a deep breath, “Yeah, yeah. Okay. I was wondering, you sent David home with magic, right?”

“Yes…” Regina had no idea where she was going with this and it showed, contorting her catlike face strangely.

“Well, then you can send other stuff away by magic too, right?” Emma proposed.

“I could,” Regina acknowledged. “But to what end?”

“I was wondering if you would send a letter. For me.”

“A letter,” she repeated.

“Yeah, like a letter to David, telling him I’m not you know, dead or something?” Emma suggested.

“I see…” Regina said slowly. It had never occurred to her to do such a thing or that Miss Swan might ask for such a thing. Neither of her previous guests had asked, although they had no one they would have wished to write to anyway, she supposed.

She herself had never been much for personal correspondence, even before the curse. She never had any friends to write and any ruling related messages had ceased being necessary when they had all been cursed. She supposed it made sense for Emma to want to reassure her brother she was alive. It wouldn’t be too hard to magic a letter over to their little cottage. Truthfully, the curse did not limit her powers when sending _other_ things _out_ of the castle—only sending herself and any of her servants away or summoning things from outside in.

She couldn’t see any harm in complying with Emma’s request and yet she was unsure if she should. She wasn’t sure if she should be granting Emma’s every whim like that—she had already given her nicer rooms than any other guest and saved her from the wolves—at a rather escalated personal risk than she had anticipated. She did not want to appear to bend to each demand the younger woman had. And yet it really was such a simple thing. It would probably solve some other issues as well—like the foolish shepherd attempting a rescue or whatever it was that foolhardy shepherds did.

She shook herself out of her deliberations, impressed that Emma had managed to remain quiet and let her think it through without cutting in. “I shall have to consider it,” she finally said.

Emma’s face fell at the ambiguous response.

“However,” Regina continued, “I shall give you my decision by tomorrow night at dinner.”

“Oh,” Emma blinked, assuming that the Queen had only said she would think about it to avoid saying ‘no’ outright. But she had given a deadline for an answer without prompting. “Alright. That seems fair.”

Regina nodded, “If that is all for tonight…?”

“Oh! Yeah. That’s it,” Emma said, still rather caught off guard by how civil the conversation had gone. She thought she’d have to argue more and that the queen would say no immediately.

“Very well,” the queen stood up. “Good night.”

“Good night.” Emma answered before the queen left.

-x-x-x-

Emma paced the next night, glancing at the clock as the hand slowly moved towards the six. Would the Queen agree to send her letter? Would she have to argue her case? Would her magic actually work as she said it would?

She sighed dramatically before falling back on the bed. Pongo whined lightly in response from where he’d been watching her on the bed next to where she had fallen back. She leaned up, supporting herself with one hand and scratching behind the Dalmatian’s ears with the other. “I know boy, I hope this works too. I know you miss David.”

Truthfully, Pongo seemed to miss David more than she did. As the days went on, it was getting more and more obvious that he didn’t understand why his master wasn’t back or why he couldn’t go to him. Not to mention how the magic of this place seemed to upset him, confusing his senses.

“I know,” she continued to croon to the dog. “I miss him too.”

After a long while lying on the bed, thinking, she sat up and looked at the clock. Finally it was time to go to dinner. She gave Pongo one last pat before getting off the bed and heading for the dining room.

-x-x-x-

She actually arrived before the Queen, five or so minutes early. She went to her seat, the candles lit and plates out. She fidgeted with the silverware until another set of doors other than the ones she had come through opened and the Queen swept in. She didn’t halt when her eyes landed on Emma already in her chair at the table but her eyes did communicate her surprise.

“Miss Swan, early for once?” her voice was low and, dare she say, amused?

Emma smiled, “It’s been known to happen on occasion.”

“I see,” Regina took her own seat and the kitchen doors opened soon after, Granny with the trays of food.

Once the food was on the table the Queen gave a small mock toast with her wine glass, “Shall we?”

Emma nodded and began to start helping herself, although more for something to distract her from her nervous anticipation of what the Queen’s answer to her request would be than her usual ravenous hunger. She had hoped the other woman would tell her if she would do it before food, but it seemed she would have to wait until after they ate to get an answer.

Regina watched the blonde woman across from her with veiled amusement as she delicately ate her food, her guest’s impatience obvious as she swallowed her food rather hurriedly instead of letting out her usual sounds of delight at the well-prepared feast.

She was careful to act as though everything was normal, although she didn’t comment on the fact that Emma was silent, no unusual questions tonight.

For once, the younger woman finished first, setting her silverware to the side and taking a second helping of cider. She looked at the Queen impatiently, but the brunette gave no sign that she noticed Emma’s agitation. “So…” Emma began, desperate for any conversation. “Nice weather today?” She winced as soon as the words left her mouth.

Regina looked up from her plate, her mouth involuntarily twitching in amusement. Emma thought she might even see a mischevious twinkle in the purple eyes, before she dismissed it as her imagination. Regina pushed her plate back and regarded the woman across from her, “Really? That’s the best you can come up with?”

Emma scowled and humphed. “Well, if you would just tell me your decision…” she grumbled.

The Queen resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the blonde’s immature display. “Honestly, how old are you? It is unbecoming to pout like a child waiting for a sweet.”

Emma did roll her eyes, “Well I think its “immature” to play with your food,” she then blinked at her words, remembering who exactly she was talking to, before hurriedly adding, “so to speak.”

“Of course,” Regina responded dryly. “I suppose I should put you out of your misery then,” she paused before adding, “so to speak.”

Emma gave her a look that clearly said “not funny”, but refrained from saying anything else lest she make the Queen change her mind.

Regina cleared her throat, “I have decided to grant your request.”

Emma blinked at her in surprise. “So you’ll do it?” she asked, wanting to verify that was what the Queen was saying.

The Queen nodded. “Yes.”

Emma stared at her for another minute in shock. She had actually said yes. She was going to let her send her letter home. She was so prepared to give an impassioned speech about why she should get to send it and why David deserved to know and the Queen just….agreed. Without her having to plead or anything.

After a minute of silence, Regina raised a brow, “Unless you have changed your mind about wishing to send it?”

That jolted Emma out of her state of shock, “No! I mean, yes I still want to send it!”

Regina suppressed a chuckle, Emma was so easy to rile up. “Alright then. Do you have one prepared or do you need time to write it still?”

Emma stared at her again, did she want to do it _now_? “Yeah, yes. I wrote it already. In case you… Yes.” She reached into her pocket and frowned, before checking her other one. “Umm…. I think I left it in my room,” she admitted sheepishly.

This time Regina gave into the urge and rolled her eyes, “Honestly, Miss Swan.”

“I can go get it though,” Emma began to stand.

The Queen waved her back to her seat, “I can summon it here with magic—wouldn’t want you to forget it once more or get lost or some other such nonsense.”

Emma pouted, “I haven’t gotten lost in days!”

“Of course,” Regina mocked lightly. She made a gesture and the letter appeared in a cloud of purple smoke in front of Emma.

As Emma picked it up, scanning it to make sure her message was still what she wanted to say, Regina spoke once more, “Anything else you’d like me to fetch for you to send back? A fruit basket perhaps?” Sarcasm positively dripped from the Queen’s voice, but, per usual for Emma, it seemed to have been misinterpreted as the blonde frowned as if considering if there _was_ anything else she wanted to send.

“Actually…”

Regina sighed, she shouldn’t have said anything. Oh well, she had asked. “What is it?”

Emma squirmed under the penetrating purple stare, “Do you think you could send Philippe back too? I’d like to keep Juane with me, but David could really use Philippe. And…” She looked to the side, thinking, before heaving a sigh. “You should probably send Pongo back too. He’s really David’s dog. They’re missing each other, I know it. David got him when he was only a puppy and this is the longest they’ve ever been apart.”

“I was not being serious,” Regina said deadpan. “I am not some sort of delivery service.”

“Oh, so you can’t do it?” Emma asked surprised, “Sorry.”

The Queen glared at her imperially, “That is not what I said.”

Emma held up her hands in a placating manner, “Of course, of course. Forget I said anything.”

Regina growled, the little blonde was practically taunting her, dismissing her abilities. Of all the nerve… She caught a glint in those blue-green eyes and realized the younger woman was doing it on purpose. The small attempt at the more subtle manipulations startled a chuckle from her.

Emma stared at her in shock, clearly not guessing that would be her reaction. It took her a second to realize what the noise even was. The sound was strange, although Emma wasn’t sure it is was because of her form or merely because the other woman hadn’t laughed in a long time. Either way the sound was not unpleasant.

Regina shook her head, “Very well, I shall send the animals back as well.”

Emma smiled widely. “Thank you,” she said, catching Regina off-guard. When was the last time someone had smiled at her with sincerity, in of appreciation of something she had done? Years for certain. She mentally shook her head to rid herself of such strange thoughts and focused back on Emma.

Emma had sealed her envelope using one of their dining candles, not wanting to say anything that might jeopardize this kind gesture on the Queen’s part. “Ready,” she said with a smile.

Regina nodded solemnly and with three simultaneous poofs, the letter, the dog, and the horse were gone back home.

-x-x-x-

David was lost in thought as he made his way down the road to his house for dinner. He was preoccupied with his latest project—not to mention worrying about Emma and the baby coming.

As he passed the small barn, he thought he heard a strange noise. He stopped a moment to listen. It didn’t sound like their one pig or the number of chickens they owned. It sounded like…barking?

Ah, yes, it was Pongo barking. The closed doors had muffled the noise, but now it was obviously just Pongo.

He nodded, glad to have figured that out, and started to continue the rest of the way to the house. He’d only taken a few steps when he froze. Wait… Pongo?

Instantly he raced back to the barn and threw the doors open. A blur of black and white fur tackled him to the ground instantly. He fell on his back as he wrapped his arms around the over-excited dog, not even minding the tongue bath his face was getting. “Pongo! Oh, Pongo. It’s so good to see you. Who’s a good boy? Oh, you are.”

The joyous reunion between man and dog lasted another few minutes until both calmed down. He pulled back, his dog’s face in his hands. “How’d you get here, boy? Is Emma with you?” He looked around but already knew she wasn’t, she would have come out herself if she was. Pongo whined and David’s hands finally landed, not on fur, but on paper. There was a letter tucked into the dog’s collar.

He took it eagerly, breaking the seal with trembling hands, and quickly reading the words written in his sister’s unmistakable, bold, scrawl.

David—

I’m not much for writing letters, but I have to so I might as well put in a good effort. First off, I am fine. The witch-queen never had me stay in the horrible cell she stuck you in. She also isn’t the only living creature in this castle as it first seemed. In fact, there a number of rather…unusual…but friendly servants.

I wanted to let you know that I will find a way to get back home, it just might take a little while. I have a plan. Don’t worry about me, focus on Mary Margaret and the baby. I promise I will meet them one day, hopefully not too far in the future.

Pongo, Philippe, and Juane have all been looked after as well. I am glad you are safe and believe it or not, I am too. Try not to feel too guilty about my imprisonment. Everything will work out in the end.

                                       —Emma

P.S. Don’t do anything stupid til I come home.

 

David’s first instinct was to disbelieve the letter, for all that Pongo was home safe. Even though it was in Emma’s scrawling hand, it could still have been written under coercion—though to what end he wasn’t sure of, as clearly the witch was already in the dominant position.

However, something stopped him from thinking that and led him to believe the letter was in fact legitimate. At the bottom corner of the page, there was a small, rather crude, drawing. It was of the bottom half of a circle with a line coming up from the middle with a triangle coming off of one side of it. A child’s approximation of a sailboat.

It was also a secret code he and Emma had worked out. It was his way of proving letters he sent from abroad, the few times he’d gone on a trip, had come from him. No one would have thought to include that and Emma could simply have left it off if she was being forced.

No, it looked like the note was genuine.

He stared at it for a moment long before a smile broke out over his face. Emma was safe. Emma had a plan. Emma would be home. She had gotten herself out of tricky situations before and, while this was a special kind of trouble even for her, he believed in her.

He also had some experience going against her famous determination a couple of times. Once she set her mind to something, she was like a terrier. The witch wouldn’t know what hit her.

All he could think was, _good luck_.


	10. Chapter 10

The two women were sitting at the dinner table the next day, quietly eating as each was lost in her own thoughts. As she thought, Emma fiddled with the cuff of her new shirt, the seamstresses having come through with a startling amount of well-made and comfortable sets of clothes for her—and not a single dress, per her specifications. She had watched David in the mirror, saw him show her letter to Mary Margaret at their own dinner that night. She was relieved it had gotten to them and knew she had done the right thing for Pongo too. David and Mary Margaret still seemed worried about her, which she expected, but at least the fear that she was dead or being tortured or some other gruesome fate had lifted.

Meanwhile, Regina was preoccupied by how much Emma was beginning to occupy her thoughts. How obviously pleased the blonde was about her little letter… the warmth that spread through her at having been the one to make Emma happy. It was disconcerting and, as she told herself sternly, inconsequential—everyone left in the end.

Per usual, it was Emma who felt the need to break the silence, the constant curiosity she had about the sorceress unable to be silenced. The success of her first experiment giving her more confidence than she’d had before. “So, what exactly do you do all day?”

“Hm?” Regina looked up, half of her mind still on other things as she lightly fingered the bandages that were still wrapped around her arms absentmindedly.

“Well,” Emma hedged, suddenly unsure before remembering that in order to convince the Queen to free her, she needed to befriend her and learn more about her. Her resolve firmed. “I mean, you’ve gotta be doing something, right?”

“Indeed,” Regina acknowledged, pausing long enough for Emma to fidget in her chair before answering her, “It has varied over the years. In the beginning of the curse, trying to gain control over my new shape and the way it had warped my magic occupied most of my time. Those years passed in a bit of a blur. Then I spent the next span doing a great deal of magical research—attempting to figure out if there was any way to break or lift the curse.”

Emma was about to ask if she’d found anything, but realized if she had—they wouldn’t be here. “What did you used to do? Before, I mean.”

“I used to have more duties that came with running a castle and a kingdom. Trade, balancing nobles, paperwork, managing relationships with other kingdoms—that sort of thing. However, between the isolation, the magic, and the way it’s impacted my people, most of that isn’t necessary anymore or isn’t possible.”

Emma considered that, it made sense, but she’d never really thought of all of the work ruling entailed before. “What about for fun?”

The queen’s whole head tilted to the side in confusion, “’Fun’?”

“Yeah, you know, stuff you do because you enjoy it—not because you have to? Fun?”

“I—,” Regina paused, as if she needed to think about it. “I did not have much time for, _fun_ , after I married, nor when I became queen or during the war.” She paused again, to the point Emma thought she wasn’t going to say anything else, but then her mouth opened once more, “Riding. I used to love taking my horse for long rides, whenever I could.”

Emma worked to keep her surprise to herself, surprised that they had something in common, although it actually sounded like Regina enjoyed riding even more than she did. That certainly explained the magnificent stables, but… “Then how come I never see you there? I’m at the stables every morning, riding Juane…”

The queen straightened, her voice turning brittle, as if trying to cover how much her next words truly bothered her, “I can’t ride. Not anymore. The horses are frightened of me. And my form is ill-suited for it.” Regina heaved a large sigh and stared off into the distance wistfully. “I used to love to ride. It was something I excelled at and truly loved. There’s nothing quite like riding over the hills, bare-back, nothing to hold you back.”

Emma noticed the change in the sorceress’s voice as she spoke of riding, how much younger and…human it made her seem. The longing in her voice something Emma felt close to. She tried to move the conversation in a more casual direction though, it was all getting a bit heavy—making her think about things she couldn’t have either. “Bare-back? Doesn’t sound very queenly. Shouldn’t you ride side saddle or something?”

Her joke seemed to fall a little flat though, for all it did work in changing the mood. “Yes, very unlady-like,” Regina confirmed, her voice a bit monotone. Suddenly she too wished to steer the conversation in a new direction—one far away from her. “What activity do _you_ enjoy most?”

“Reading,” Emma answered quickly and without hesitation.

“You like to read?”

“Yeah, although it was a lot easier in the city. The bookstore in town doesn’t really have a lot. They have most of the well-known or popular books, but I’d already read those. I was starting to have re-read when David, um, left,” Emma finally settled on.

“I see,” Although Emma couldn’t really tell what exactly she saw. She was getting better at deciphering the queen’s facial expression, but the fur made it hard. “That’s too bad.”

Emma just bobbed her head, “Yeah, well, I didn’t mind too much. I like re-reading my favorites but after a while I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do. Well actually,” she corrected herself before pausing, unsure. Should she confide in the witch? She turned the thought over before deciding that yes, she would. After all, who could she tell and it wasn’t so much a secret as rather personal and if Emma really wanted to befriend the queen, it would have to be a two-way street. The other woman certainly wasn’t going to start that process—she was locked down tighter than, well, than this castle.

Regina had noticed the pause, but Emma continued before she had a chance to raise a brow in question. “Actually, after David and Mary Margaret were settled, and the baby was older, I guess, I was going to leave.” Regina gave her a look that Emma took as a silent request for her to elaborate. Maybe her face was being particularly expressive that day or maybe Emma _was_ finally learning how to read the queen. “That town is too small. I know David’s happy there but I’ll never be. I moved with him because he needed someone he could count on and to, er, put some distance between me and some people in my city that were rather displeased with me.”

Regina smirked at that, but Emma pointedly ignored it. “But now that he’s more or less settled, and has Mary Margaret to look after him…” Emma trailed off as she shrugged. “I want to get back to a city, somewhere new—not my old one—a whole new place. I’ve always wanted to explore and see new places, but before I didn’t have enough money or means to support myself and I was too young and it was too dangerous and there was David to think about. Now though, I’ve got plenty of skills to survive with, saved a decent amount of money to start on and pay David back for Juane. The baby is a surprise, but once he or she isn’t a baby, I’m gonna finally go out and see what else is out there, with my own eyes—not just in the pages of books.”

She gave the biggest smile Regina had seen yet, her eyes shining with her plans. It was enough to make Regina forget just about everything except for Emma. Until her eyes dimmed and the smile faded. “Or at least, I was going to,” Emma corrected, so caught up in having someone to fully explain her plans to she had forgotten that in actuality she was further from ever achieving her dream than ever before.

Regina too seemed to realize that as she frowned. “Sounds exciting,” was all she said though, “What does your brother think of your plan?”

Emma kept her eyes on her plate as she shrugged, “He’s not, like, thrilled, but he used to sail away for months at a time himself and he knows I’m not suited for the town. If I had found someone—a friend or spouse—he probably would have tried to persuade me to stay but he knows he can’t keep me here and he won’t try. He knows how I feel about being trapped,” that last part was said pointedly, but Emma’s refusal to meet the queen’s eyes highlighted the note of genuine panic in her voice that she couldn’t quite hide, Emma flashing back to the night she’d tried to leave her room.

“Would you come back to visit him?” Regina asked instead of commenting on the sudden down turn of her guest’s mood.

“Yeah, of course,” Emma said, surprised, the implication in her tone being that her answer should be obvious, “Just because I don’t want to live in the same town as him doesn’t mean I never want to see him again.”

“I see.” Then the queen’s chair scraped on the stone as she pushed it up abruptly. “I need to attend to something,” she said as she stood. Emma blinked up at her. “Come here tomorrow for lunch, please.” Then she vanished in a puff of smoke.

Emma didn’t think she would ever get used to that. And had Regina just said please?

-x-x-x-

As Emma brushed Juane down, she thought over her lunch plans. Henry was doing something else today—probably something with that Aunt Jeanna he always talked about—and so she was using the quiet to get her thoughts in order. Regina had asked her to come to the main dining hall for lunch—something she had never done before. On top of that, it was clearly a request—not a demand like diner was.

The question was, should Emma oblige her? Should she go to show that she would listen to Regina even when it wasn’t an order, to make up for the West Wing debacle? Or should she keep to her usual routine in order to show her that she would do as she wished whenever she could and not give in to Regina’s whims?

In the end she knew what she would choose, too curious, too desperate for a chance to see the woman inside the witch, inside the queen, to let this chance slip through her fingers. So after she finished in the stable, at her usual lunch time, Emma went into the dining hall instead of the kitchen.

The queen was waiting for her, but she offered no explanation, merely acting as though they always had lunch together as they did with dinner.

They made a brief amount of small talk before focusing on their food until Emma decided to follow their dinner routine nearly to the letter. “Isn’t it kinda redundant?” she mused out loud.

Regina looked at her in confusion, what was the blonde going on about now?

Emma continued, “Being a queen, _named_ Regina? Isn’t that, I don’t know,” she made a vague gesture with her fork, “heavy handed?”

Regina blinked in surprise before looking away. “I wasn’t always a queen. My mother named me and she had very great ambitions for me, even before I was born.”

Emma considered that, “So what did you want for yourself?”

Regina stared at her as if no one had ever asked her such a thing before. Emma started to get the sinking feeling no one had. “Freedom,” she said wistfully, but surely, in such a quiet way that let Emma know Regina had long since acknowledged it would never come true.

Emma’s heart clenched at that, mind drifting back to certain orphanages she’d been forced into and then onto more recent time. Emma bobbed her head, “Yeah, I suppose the curse sorta ruined that.”

The queen made a gesture that for a less regal person might have been a shrug. “I was trapped long before the curse took effect.”

Emma had no idea how to respond to that. So she just took a drink of cider before asking, “Why are we having lunch today?”

If Regina thought anything of the sudden change, she gave no sign of it. “Something came up last night and it will require my full attention tonight as well so we will not be having dinner.”

“Oh.” Honestly, Emma had just thought that the queen had more or less made up the excuse to leave the uncomfortable conversation, although now she wondered why—the queen was the one who insisted on the dinners—surely she could simply leave if she felt like it, without random excuses.

“And,” Regina said, bringing Emma’s attention back to her, “there is something I wanted to show you.”

Emma stared at her warily, “Show me?” Her mind raced as she wondered what it could be.

“Yes,” Regina confirmed. “In fact, if you’re done with your food, I can show you right now.”

“Oh! Sure, yeah. I’m good.”

Emma hurriedly stood up as the queen did. “Follow me.”

-x-x-x-

At first, the queen had led her down corridors Emma knew, but now they had moved further into the castle than Emma’s rooms were and she was starting to lose track of where they were going. She really should take the time to more fully explore this place. It was staggeringly large and actually pretty fascinating. They must have passed a dozen rooms, some with their doors shut and others with them open, revealing dark and dusty rooms with cloth shrouded furniture. She was definitely going to talk Henry into exploring with her. Kids always knew the best ways around.

They ended up in a long hall, heading for a set of large double doors that at least looked like they’d been opened in the last decade. “I couldn’t use this room for a number of years, not until I perfected my control over this ghastly form.” The queen spoke for the first time since they’d left the dining hall. She glared down at her furry fingers and the sharp claws at the ends before she balled them into fists. “My claws are so sharp and they’re only semi-retractable. After my first disastrous attempt, I elected to wait until I didn’t shred everything delicate in my grasp before I returned.”

Emma brow furrowed as she tried to guess what the queen was getting at, something breakable? Something ‘delicate’? ‘Delicate’ always made her think of lace for some reason. Oh no, was she going to try to make her sew something? Claws would rip through that for sure. Come to think of it, she studied the queen’s outfit for a moment. How the heck did she get into her clothes? They were far more elaborate and the material fancier than anything Emma had ever worn, not that that meant much, but still… It had to be a challenge.

Emma pulled herself from her strangely wandering thoughts to mentally prepare herself for whatever could be on the other side of those doors as Regina firmly grasped the handles and heaved on the heavy wood. They opened with a slight groan and the queen swept in, standing off to the side as she let Emma enter after her—out of the way so she could get a full view.

Emma followed her in and gasped as the heavy curtains in front of floor to ceiling windows opposite the entrance were pulled back by magic and light illuminated the largest library she had ever seen.

She stared with wide eyes as she turned, more books than she had ever seen in her life lined the walls. Big books, small books, old books, new books. Books with spines of every color, shelf after shelf. “Oh my…”

Slowly her eyes noticed the other features of the room, a large fireplace with a couch and very comfortable chairs in front of it, a large desk in one corner and a few tables along with an odd assortment of other chairs were scattered throughout the room. The light from the window was plenty to see by in the day but she saw candle holders mounted on the walls as well as taller ones standing by the chairs and smaller ones resting on the tables.

“I take it you like it?” Regina asked rhetorically, she was unable to hide the amusement in her voice nor the fact that she was clearly pleased Emma was so impressed. “I would have mentioned it earlier, but not many enjoy reading for the pleasure of it.”

Emma belatedly nodded as she walked over to one wall and began to run her hand along some of the spines, “Yes, it’s….perfect… How do you ever bring yourself to leave?”

That startled a real laugh from Regina. The sound caught Emma so off guard it drew her gaze away from the books and back the other woman. Even before, Regina’s laugh had not been so genuine—the sound was magical, like nothing she had ever heard before. The sound faded, but the look on her face stayed. With a jolt, Emma realized this must be what Regina looked like when she was happy. “Yes, I often ask myself that very question. As I said, for years I could not handle any books, at least not with my hands. After the time I had accidently ruined my favorite book, I vowed not to touch another until I was sure it would survive the experience. Holding and turning the pages with magic becomes tiresome very quickly and so I only did so when it was absolutely necessary.”

“Once I mastered the use of my own body once more, I returned to my library quite happily. You asked what I do with my time,” she gestured to the room, “this is the real answer. Much of it is spent in here.”

“I can see why,” Emma said reverently as she turned back to the books.

“The books cover every subject, in multiple languages, as well as fiction. Feel free to sit anywhere and read anything. I only ask that you be careful with them—it’s not as though I can go out and replace any.”

“Of course,” Emma looked horrified at the idea of damaging them.

Regina seemed to know that as her eyes had that twinkle in them that Emma really was starting to believe meant she was teasing her. “Good, then I shall leave you to it. Matters will most likely take me away not only this evening, but tomorrow evening as well. I shall tell Sidney when dinners are to resume and he will pass the message on to you. You are free to eat here though, if you wish.”

“Okay,” Emma agreed turning before she paused and turned to meet Regina’s purple eyes. “Is everything alright?”

Regina had not been expecting Emma to ask after her. She mentally shook her head, the blonde was asking after the situation, not the witch herself. “Yes, just some delicate spell work that needs to be done. It happens every once in a while. It’s time consuming and requires a careful touch and concentration, but nothing life threatening. The castle is safe.”

Emma nodded, “Good.” She flashed a brief smile before reaching out and pulling a book from the shelf. Regina began to leave, but just as she was out the door she heard Emma call, “Oh!” She half turned, wondering what else there was to discuss as Emma ran over to stop in front of her. She gave a sheepish smile, “I just realized I’d never thanked you. So, thank you for bringing me here.”

Regina seemed utterly unprepared to deal with such sincere gratitude. Then her eyes softened, and her voice was almost gentle as she responded, “Your welcome, Miss Swan.” A small but clear smile spread over her face before she swept from the room.

-x-x-x-

“Emma?”

A voice cut through to the blonde curled up in a large leather chair by a fireplace. “Hm?”

“Emma? Are you in here?”

The blonde in question dragged her eyes off the page and up, blinking into the darkness by the door to the library. “Yeah?” She struggled to get her mind out of the story and back into the present. “Ruby?”

The wolf girl walked into the circle of light around Emma, who barely remembered pausing long enough to start the fire and light the four or so candles that surrounded her.

“What are you doing in here?” Ruby sounded surprised, confused, and a little worried.

Emma frowned at the tone. “Um… reading?” she offered, holding up her book a little.

“But how did you get here? This is the Queen’s private library. No one else uses it and she won’t even let any of the remaining staff clean it,” Ruby explained.

“Really? Oh well, I mentioned I liked to read last night at dinner and she took me here today after our lunch,” she punctuated that with a shrug to show it was no big deal.

Ruby however raised her brows, “She did?”

“Yeah, why?”

Ruby shrugged, “It’s just unlike her to share the things she values with anyone else. Before or after the curse. Everyone knows she loves this library, it’s where she tends to take her meals when there isn’t a guest. But as far as I know, she’s never invited anyone else in here.”

“Oh.” There was a glint in Ruby’s eyes, a knowing and hopeful glint that was making Emma nervous and self-conscious. She tried to brush off the implication she was special in some way, “Maybe they didn’t like reading as much as I do and she was worried they would mess stuff up. She should protect this place—it’s fantastic.”

Ruby just shrugged again, “I guess.” She glanced around, her wolf eyes letting her see clearly in the dark. “They’re just books.”

Emma frowned at that. “There’s nothing ‘just’ about books,” she said with false condescension, looking down her nose at Ruby sternly. They held gazes for a few seconds before they both started laughing.

“Okay, okay,” Ruby said, holding up her hands in surrender. “Books are important, got it, _my_ _lady_. Would you care for any nourishment? That’s why I came to find you—it’s almost an hour past dinnertime.”

“It is?” Emma hadn’t realized that much time had passed. Her stomach evidently had as it chose that moment to let out a growl. Emma blushed, “I guess it is. Regina said I could eat in here, so can I have whatever was for dinner brought up?”

Ruby stared at her in shock, had Emma just used the queen’s first name when talking about her? She quickly covered up her surprise and delight at this development, “Sure. I can bring that right up.”

“Great,” Emma flashed a smile. “Thanks,” she said before her attention was drawn back into her book.

-x-x-x-

After the strange next two days where she didn’t see the queen at all, Emma found herself in a new routine. She would have breakfast with all her friends in the kitchen followed by riding with Juane. Then in the afternoon she would go to the library where she was most often joined by the queen. The pair would read quietly, sometimes with a tea break and other times not, with dinner either in the dining hall or at the table in the library. Lunch varied the most, sometimes she took it with the other servants, sometimes she had a picnic with Henry and other times she would join Regina in the library. It was a surprisingly comfortable life, and while she couldn’t forget that she couldn’t leave, she was feeling more and more confident in her growing friendship with the queen. For once in her life, she felt that everything just might work out in the end.

-x-x-x-

Regina caught herself glancing at the clock for the fifth time in as many minutes and cursed silently. She was not anxious or waiting for the blonde. She wasn’t. She was simply curious as to what could be taking her so long, that was all. They had been spending the afternoon in the library together for the past few weeks and Emma had never come this late before, so it was natural for her to wonder what could have caused the change.

She tried to focus back on her book and frowned. She had no memory of this page, or the preceding one. Damn it. Maybe she was distracted. She sighed and flipped back, trying to find where she’d been when her mind had wandered.

She was only halfway through a page again when she could finally make out sounds of her guest’s approach. Unbidden a smile began to grow on her face before she attempted to school her features, trying to at least _appear_ interested in her book like she usually was.

The blonde seemed to be stomping and huffing more than usual. She burst through the door, “Regina!”

“Yes?” she answered nonchalantly, keeping her eyes on the page.

“You need to have a talk with your servants!”

“Something upsetting you, dear?” Regina asked mildly, far too amused by the childish tantrum Emma seemed to be throwing.

Was she upset? Yes, Emma was upset. Emma was angry. Emma was pissed. “How could you tell?” she asked through gritted teeth. Regina’s refusal to meet her eyes, as if she had better things to do, was not helping the blonde’s mood.

“Just a feeling.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t know if this is some kind of joke, but it’s not funny. You get them to fix this—right now!”

“Fix what?” Curiosity was beginning to overwhelm her, what could have upset Emma so much?

“Well, if you’d just look at me, you’d see ‘what’! I can’t believe they did this,” she added that last part almost to herself.

With an exaggerated sigh, Regina put her bookmark in and closed her book, before turning to look at Emma.

The blonde’s hair was slightly mussed, like she’d tried to run her hand through it having forgotten that it was in a braid. Her green eyes were fiery and she was glaring, rather petulantly at the brunette with her arms crossed in front of her. However, that was not the most notable thing about her appearance. Instantly, Regina knew what the blonde was so angry about.

Emma Swan was wearing a dress.

Regina blinked. Gone were the blonde’s typical wardrobe of tight brown pants tucked into tall brown boots with a vest over a linen shirt that the seamstresses had made for her. Instead she was in a floor length dress. It wasn’t nearly as elaborate as some of the outfits Regina wore now, let alone some of the ones from her past, but seeing the blonde in such a different outfit made the effect almost as dramatic.

The gown was a deep green, bringing out that color in her eyes, with simple white patterns embroidered on the straps and trim. It had clearly been designed with Emma in mind, not only due to the complementary colors, but also because it fit her perfectly.

“Oh my,” Regina said as she scanned Emma from head to toe.

The woman in question flushed at the extra scrutiny. “Fix this,” she growled, trying to shove her embarrassment into the corner of her mind.

Regina made the face that meant she was slightly confused, “Fix what? You look very nice in that dress.”

Emma’s blush deepened, unsure if the queen was teasing or not. She decided to simply ignore the compliment altogether. “That’s not the point. The _point_ is that all of my other clothes are missing and this was the only thing left.”

That did surprise Regina, “All of them?”

“Every single article of clothing, from underwear to nightclothes—even the outfit I had on earlier today, was taken away while I was bathing.”

Regina brought a hand up to her mouth as Emma’s eyes widened, was that a giggle she just heard the other woman stifle? “It’s not funny,” she whined. “I hate dresses. Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter. Always getting caught on everything, dragging in the dirt, impossible to do anything in. And I specifically told them no dresses. I just want _my_ clothes back.” It was the principle of the thing.

“Well, it’s not like you’d really be doing anything else outside today, surely it’s not so bad at the moment.” Emma huffed but said nothing as she continued to glare at Regina. “But I suppose you’re clumsy enough as it is without adding skirts.”

“Hey!” Emma protested, but then seemed not to have anything to add beyond that so she simply marched over to the couch across from Regina. She sat down heavily, the petulant look still in her eyes as she crossed her arms to continue to glare at Regina. “Find my clothes,” she repeated. “Please.”

“Very well, if you insist.”

-x-x-x-

Regina rang for Ruby, who protested that she had no idea how the mishap had occurred and that there must have been a miscommunication among the laundry workers (who it seems were literally washing bins, boards, and water pumps under the curse). Emma suspected Ruby was not being at all truthful, something about the look Ruby had given her, but she had no proof so she settled for glaring at her reproachfully. Her temper had died down though and didn’t flare back up, even when Ruby explained the clothes were actually all literally being washed at the moment and they couldn’t be worn even if she was to get them.

She offered to try and find some other clothes for her, but Emma had merely given a resigned sigh and told her not to bother—as long as her clothes were returned by tomorrow morning. Truthfully, Regina had made a good point—it _was_ mainly how much dresses got in the way and how quickly they got dirty that made her dislike them and all she had planned for the rest of the day was reading so it wasn’t actually that much of an inconvenience.

She was mainly angry about being _forced_ into the dress and having no choice in the matter, so she still stuck her tongue out at Ruby as she left. She tried to make sure Regina didn’t catch the childish gesture but the look in her eyes made her think the brunette had. She blushed lightly but Regina didn’t say a word beyond that they would dine in the library today and that Emma could request whatever she wished for supper.

That banished the rest of Emma’s bad mood and she settled onto her usual couch with a happy smile.

-x-x-x-

They spent the rest of the evening there, taking dinner at the table and discussing their current books as well as giving impassioned recommendations of books the other _had_ to read. Finally though, Emma decided to retire for the night. She rose from her chair, leaving her book where it was, knowing that if she took it with her she would never get to sleep or, as she stifled a yawn, she would at least not get out of bed the next morning.

She paused in the doorway, but instead of her typical ‘good night’, she instead brushed a hand down her skirt and asked a quiet question she’d been thinking over in her head recently, “If I hadn’t been one of your people, if you had let me leave freely and I had still run into those wolves that night….Would you have still come?”

Regina blinked in surprise at the question. “I…” She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. It was one of the few times the Queen had looked hesitant—though not of what her answer was, just if she should reveal it or not. Emma leaned forward slightly, her own green eyes intent enough that even they seemed filled with magic as they bored into purple ones—as if looking hard enough would tell her Regina’s answer. Evidently it did, because she drew back with a shy, but pleased smile on her face. Regina looked taken aback by the reaction.

Emma’s smile softened even more. “That’s what I thought. Good night, Regina.”

She walked out the door, almost missing Regina’s quiet response.

“Good night…Emma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i stopped uploading the chapters but my new internship started this week and its been really crazy.


	11. Chapter 11

Emma turned down the next hallway and was surprised to see Ruby and Sidney in an intense conversation. Ruby was making emphatic hand gestures while Sidney’s head bobs somehow managed to convey the same urgency. Ha, she knew it—something was up. Everyone had been a bit busier than usual and even Regina had been in a good mood. Henry refused to tell her what was happening, explaining he’d promised to keep it a secret. Emma had hoped to catch someone letting something slip before she confronted Ruby, but she decided their obvious furtiveness was enough.

She walked closer slowly, until she was only a yard away, before asking in a deceptively mild tone, “What’s going on?”

The two jumped before shooting each other a look before turning back to her. “Whatever do you mean?” Sidney tried, attempting to smile innocently, but only managing to look nervous.

“Oh, come on. Something’s happening. And soon. You don’t think I’ve noticed how busy and excited you all seem?” Emma gave them an incredulous look.

They sighed. “I suppose you’d find out eventually.”

“We wanted it to be a surprise,” Ruby hurried, not wanting Emma to get the wrong idea.

Emma just looked at them with her arms crossed—waiting.

“It’s almost time for the New Moon Ball!” Ruby couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“New moon? Ball?” Emma felt very lost.

“Yes,” Sidney said, sending Ruby a betrayed look. “It’s time for the annual ball that we throw at this time of year. It’s the biggest event we have. These days, at least.”

“Really? What’s so special about it? New moons happen every month.” Emma said with a shrug.

“This one _is_ special. It’s when the Queen reverts back to her original form,” Ruby explained.

“She what? How’s that even possible?” Emma asked, eyes wide. No one had ever mentioned anything like that before. She would definitely have remembered.

“From one dawn to the next, once a year, the Queen will return to her original appearance, from before we were all first cursed,” Sidney recited.

“You all turn back to normal?” Emma asked.

“Sort of. We each have our own day. They’re pretty random—only Henry shares his with the Queen’s.  Still, we have a party each year in honor of her. And she doesn’t turn back to normal completely—no one does. She keeps the tail and eyes I believe,” Ruby explained.

“Wow. Wait, Regina has a tail?” Emma blushed at the incredulous looks the duo sent her. “Right, not important. The ball sounds really fun though.”

“Yeah, it’s easily the most relaxed the queen is all year. No one really sees her for the first part of the day, but we cook all of her favorite foods, especially the ones she can’t eat in her cursed form, and she puts on a dress like the fancier gowns she used to wear for the big celebrations,” Ruby said, almost wistful.

“She always looks marvelous. The way she dances…” Sidney sighed happily.

“She dances?” Emma asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Oh yes, the Queen loves to dance. There aren’t many choices on who with, of course, with all the nobles turned into portraits, but she makes due. Sometimes alone, sometimes with anyone human-shaped enough to manage. A few years, she even danced with a coat rack or two,” Ruby added with a giggle. “I’ve danced with her a few times, since I’m relatively human shaped. She’s really good.”

“So, do I get to go?” Emma asked, a bit teasing, a bit hopeful.

The servants glanced at each other in surprise. “Of course,” the pair chorused.

“Awesome,” she grinned.

-x-x-x-

Now that Emma knew about the coming ball, it seemed to be all anyone talked about. She had confronted Regina about it, worried that maybe the queen hadn’t told her on purpose. However, the older woman merely reacted with surprise that it could have slipped her mind and that “really, dear, if you’d just asked me when you thought something was going on, I would have told you”.

Even Henry was excited. He’d never gone before, because something had always happened—he often wore himself out playing with the horses or doing other things since it was his human day too—but he said that this year he did want to go. “…and you’re here this year so it’s probably gonna be even more fun than usual! And I asked Aunt Jeanna and she said I could and I get to stay up late and…”

Ruby had been eager to show Emma her outfit for the ball, as it seemed everyone that could got dressed up—regardless of status—due to the lack of proper guests. Ruby’s dress was red, with white, sequined and swirled when she spun. Emma laughed at Ruby’s obvious delight, but assured her it looked very nice—Emma had even gotten over how strange a sight the wolf girl twirling in her fancy dress made. Almost.

Then Ruby had begun to talk about what dresses she thought Emma might wear. “Whoa, wait up a minute,” Emma protested. “Who said anything about me wearing a dress?”

Ruby actually tilted her head to the side in confusion, “What do you mean?”

Emma narrowed her eyes, “I haven’t forgotten the last time you all forced me into a dress, by taking everything else I had to wear!”

“Oh, come on. I told you that was just a mistake.” Ruby turned around, not wanting to meet Emma’s eyes as she tried to brush off what was really the obvious truth.

“Uh-hm.” Emma’s skepticism was very evident.

“Besides, what else would you wear? You certainly can’t go in your normal clothes, not to a ball,” Ruby’s stress on the word made it clear that idea was out of the question and Emma found she had to agree. This was going to be special and she wanted it to be, but she didn’t want Ruby and the other staff members making any more decisions for her. “And it’s not like you can have them make you a fancy suit like they do for the other men, er, people who used to be men and can actually wear a suit at least.” Ruby began to lose her train of thought there at the end and, because she was still sorting through fabrics, failed to see the way Emma’s face lit up.

“Actually, I think that’s exactly what I should do,” Emma’s voice was triumphant.

“What?” Ruby asked as she whirled around.

“I think I’ll wear whatever it is that noble men would wear to balls, instead of noble ladies or whatever the dress code is for balls,” Emma explained, moving to a different section of the seamstress’ rooms, the one with coats, fine shirts and leggings.

“You can’t do that!” Ruby winced as soon as the words left her mouth. She’d done it now. The gleam in the blonde’s eyes only confirmed she’d said the absolute worst thing if she’d wanted to change her mind.

“Oh, but I can,” Emma responded with a raised brow and a smirk worthy of the queen herself.

-x-x-x-

As preparations for the ball finalized, an infectious sort of excitement filled the palace. Emma found herself happier here than she had been in the past year she’d spent in the tiny town with David, even more than some of her time in the city. She still missed him, but at least she wasn’t bored out of her mind most of the time or basically forced into doing chores she either didn’t like or still hadn’t completely learned how to do. The main drag on her contentedness was the fact that she was technically still trapped—she avoided any thoughts about leaving her room late at night because the memory still disturbed her—and the fact that Mary Margaret was getting closer and closer to her due date. The idea that she might miss such an important time in her family’s life couldn’t help but make her sad.

Normally, focusing on her plan to befriend Regina and how well that was going was enough to banish all but the worst of her moods. In fact, it was working out even better than she’d hoped. She’d never had many friends herself, a few people she would eat with, some others who’d been in and out of the orphanages with her—people she knew to get things to and get things from. David was the only real friend she had though.

Since coming to the castle, she found she considered Ruby a friend, and most of the other servants as good acquaintances at the very least. Henry, for all that he was only a little kid, was like a friend too, or at least moving towards being like a little brother to her. Regina, although she was hard to place in a category, was probably the person she was interested in the most and felt the most connected too. She found she wanted to be her friend for reasons beyond simply escaping. Regina was such a challenge and so complicated that it made Emma want to learn everything she could about her. However, Regina was also one of the most reserved people she’d ever met and Emma herself didn’t exactly have a lot of practice making friends, as her past showed.

She found herself glancing around the library, automatically looking for the brunette without consciously making the decision. Emma frowned, where had she gone? Then she remembered the older woman had said there was a sequel of sorts to a book Emma had mentioned enjoying and left to go find. The blonde shook her head at her memory loss; the other woman couldn’t have left more than ten minutes ago. As Emma glanced down at the book she’d meant to get back to while she waited, she realized she hadn’t read a single new word.

She had just begun getting back into her book when she was pulled from the story. “Emma!” The blonde looked up, startled at the sound of her name. “Emma!” It was a young boy’s voice, high-pitched for maximum whine. How did Henry even know where this room was? She was sure that was his voice though…

Sure enough, the boy in question soon ran into the room looking upset. He looked around briefly before spotting her on one of the couches. He nearly barreled into her—something that would not have ended well for Emma, or probably even the couch, due to his weight—but managed to pull back in time. He still gripped her leg tightly as he looked up at her. She hadn’t been aware he could cry, but now she could see he could.

“What is it, Henry?” She placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder and he turned his face into her stomach. He mumbled something that she couldn’t make out. “What?”

He pulled back to look at her again, “Granny said I can’t go to the ball!”

“Oh.”

“Normally I don’t, because everyone says it’s too late for me to be up, but this year I really want to go cuz you’re here and I asked Aunt Jeanna and she said it was okay, just this once, but Granny won’t believe me. You have to tell her to let me go!”

Emma tried to catch up. She knew she couldn’t say that most of the staff believed his aunt wasn’t real or that, regardless, she had no real authority over him. “Henry, I’m not sure it’s up to your aunt,” she said instead, searching for a good reason he would understand. “It’s the queen’s ball and most balls are for adults only.”

His lips came out in a pout, “Why doesn’t the queen want me there? Does she not like me?”

“Oh, of course not, that’s not it at all.” The look in his eyes was beginning to make her think that maybe she should try to persuade Regina to let him come. It was such a little thing after all, to let the boy come. Granny wouldn’t be too mad if she did that, right? Because it’s only one late night after all. And it’s not like it was a real ball when most of the people there were strange enchanted objects, no one could leave afterwards, and there weren’t any strangers coming. Granny was probably mainly concerned about what Regina would think, so if Emma could get her to agree, surely the teapot wouldn’t mind.

She was about to open her mouth, not sure what she was going to say only that she wanted to stop him from crying, when another voice came to them. “I found it: The Blue Sword. I knew I had it somewhere.” The queen swept into the room, brandishing the book she’d left to find. Her eyes widened at the sight of the boy statue with Emma.

To Emma’s great surprise, Henry pulled out of her arms and ran toward the queen. The blonde reached out after him too late, not sure what he was doing or how the queen would react when Henry opened his mouth, “Aunt Gina!”

He hurdled himself into her skirts, not seeming to hold back any of his strength. Regina didn’t seem to notice though, crouching down to look the boy in the eye, concerned. “Henry! What on Earth is the matter?”

“Granny won’t let me go to the ball even though you said I could!”

Emma was still trying to wrap her head around what was happening when Regina reached forward and picked the boy up with practiced ease, standing as she leaned him against her hip, “It’s just a misunderstanding, sweetheart. I’ll have it all straightened out, don’t you worry.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

Henry look placated, snuggling a bit more into the queen’s arms as Emma continued to stare at the pair in complete confusion. Queen Regina was Henry’s “Aunt Jeanna”? Of course—Regina, Gina. How had she missed that?

Regina didn’t meet the blonde’s eyes as she made her way to the large chair opposite her. “Here’s the book,” she reached out with the hand not under Henry to pass it to the younger woman.

Emma still nearly dropped it. “Right. Thanks.”

Henry looked completely at home in the queen’s arms. “Would you like to read with us today?”

“Okay!” Henry agreed, reaching to grab the top most book in the pile on the table next to them. Emma caught a glimpse of the title and saw that it was a children’s book. Was that pile just for him?

Then Henry froze, frowning. He looked up at Regina very seriously, “Emma said that maybe the queen might not let me go to the ball anyway.”

“Did she?” Regina smirked at Emma’s blush and the blonde responded with a glare. “Well, I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I know for a fact the queen would love for you to come.”

“Really? How?” he asked, his eyes shining up at her. Henry clearly had a similar case of hero-worship with his aunt that he did with Emma.

“Because,” Regina said. “ _I_ am the queen.”

Henry’s eyes got very wide as he gaped at the queen, “What? You are? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked,” she said with a teasing smirk.

“No fair,” Henry grumbled.

“I’m the queen,” Regina replied in a lofty tone, “I don’t have to be fair.” Then to Emma’s great surprise, she winked at the little boy, making him giggle. “But the others don’t know that I’m your aunt either, it’s been a sort of secret,” she said now, leaning close to emphasize but with a mischievous smile on her face. “Can you keep it a secret until the ball? Then we can surprise them all at once.”

“Yeah!” Henry’s eyes were shining. “That will be so funny!” He was still giggling to himself as he pulled out of Regina’s lap to sit pressed against her so she could open her own book to read.

Emma just watched them interact with a slightly dazed expression, but even her shock wasn’t enough to stop the smile from growing on her face at the picture they presented, reading together across from her.

-x-x-x-

Henry hung out with them in the library, reading his own books, until it was time for dinner. He left with Ruby when she brought in their food. His book had been about wolves and so he was asking her a million questions a minute as she tried to explain she wasn’t actually a wolf—completely distracting her from wondering why he was even there. Both women shook their heads at his excitement and began their meal. It only took a few minutes for Regina to sigh, take a sip of wine and say, “I suppose you’d like an explanation?”

“Um, yes.” Emma said, finally giving up her pretense of nonchalance. “Very much. I’m so confused.” She distinctly remembered Regina saying she was an only child. It was just as obvious, if never explicitly stated, that she didn’t like anyone from her former husband’s side of the family. Besides, that would have made Henry a prince of some kind and he was obviously not one. So was Henry the child of a friend of hers? That didn’t seem likely seeing as it took Emma nearly a month to realize the ‘friend’ and only other person Regina mentioned with any fondness was in fact her horse and not a person at all.

Regina took another sip of wine and stared off into the distance. “You might remember that I mentioned a man whom I loved when I was younger?”

Emma frowned, trying to remember. “Yeah…. Daniel, right?”

Regina’s face was the queenly mask Emma rarely had seen the past few weeks. “Correct. After his death and my ascension to the throne, I told his family that they could always come to me if they needed anything and I would do everything in my power to help. Regretfully, his parents passed away a year or so after he did. However, he still had a sister and brother-in-law.”

Regina seemed to be prying the tale from herself with obvious difficulty and so Emma patiently waited out the pauses. The queen’s usual smooth speech was stilted in a way that Emma had only heard that night she’d last alluded to this story and a few times recently when they stumbled onto a topic that Regina refused to talk about. “A week before the curse was enacted, I received a letter from his sister, written and sent in the event of her death. She and her husband had gotten ill and died, leaving behind their seven year old son. They asked that I give him a place in my palace so that he wouldn’t go hungry. Henry arrived a day or two later.”

“I had planned on formally adopting him and naming him my heir, for I never planned to remarry and have children of my own. However, I wanted to do so carefully—still anxious about my enemies. But then…”

Emma thought about how much Regina must have loved Daniel, for her to offer this to his family, even though he wasn’t alive anymore. To clearly have meant the offer so genuinely and to still want to honor it all these years later. How fully she saw Henry as a part of her family, for all that it is obvious she and Daniel never married. It reminds her that, normally, people look at Emma as if she’d lied, when she reveals she and David didn’t have the same parents—she belatedly realized Regina never had.

How alone she must have been, even before this cursed existence, having already given up on future happiness in the form of a new family, a new spouse, or children of her own. She remembered Regina’s conviction that no one could save her from the curse. “The curse,” Emma quietly supplied when it seemed Regina had lost the thread of what she had been saying.

“Yes. Those first few years I barely had any control—between my magic and my new form and my rage over what had been done to me and my people,” Regina’s eyes grew distant as she remembered. “It is only in the last decade I introduced myself to him, explaining that I am the aunt he was sent to live with. Although, he’d hadn’t been told so explicitly. I wish I could have been there for him in the beginning, when his parents were so freshly gone. But…” She trailed off, the regret heavy in her voice. “The curse robbed me of that chance.”

She seemed to shake back to herself with that last admission and refilled her wine glass with her usual grace. “I never told anyone who he is to me. I told myself I was worried someone who was angry about the curse might try to hurt him to hurt me,” Emma nodded, understanding that fear for all that she didn’t believe it was a strong possibility, although that one healer turned into some medical tool did seemed rather vengeful. “But truthfully I enjoyed having someone who treated me as a person and not the queen. Someone who wasn’t afraid of me.” She had a small smile on her face as she spoke of Henry. The queen brushed aside the thought that, perhaps with Emma, she had two people who thought of her as Regina.

“I hadn’t exactly lied,” Regina justified, “but I hadn’t told him who I really was until today. The other ones, who still do not know, that is the other reason actually. I was concerned that if I claimed him, the servants would treat him differently. I did not want to isolate him from the rest of the castle, especially in light of the fact that there’s no one else for him to interact with from the outside instead. And no one has ever made the connection.”

“That’s because they all think Henry made you up,” Emma informed her, grateful for Regina’s honesty and wanting to move the conversation in a happier direction. She could see the sad memories were drawing Regina into a somber mood and wanted to try to keep the casually content mood Regina had been in when Henry was there.

“Really?” It seemed to work as Regina didn’t sound offended, if anything she sounded amused.

Emma nodded, “Yeah, that or you’re one of the noble pictures that managed to figure out how to speak. It’s ‘cause the house servants all know each other and the outside ones can’t talk. Therefore, since you aren’t one of them and Henry says you can talk, they just assumed you were some sort of imaginary friend. Especially since he only started talking about you relatively recently.”

Regina nodded, “I suppose that makes sense. I had wondered. And I suppose, in letting Henry come to the ball, I will be revealing who I am to them. Perhaps it is time. Past time even.” She didn’t look upset, more resigned than anything, but even that wasn’t quite right. Emma sighed, she was never going to figure Regina out, but, she thought with a smile, where would the fun in that be?

-x-x-x-

The days passed rapidly until Emma found herself waiting anxiously at the landing in the middle of the grand staircase. She fidgeted with the cuff on her right hand nervously. She had on a black coat with shiny buttons up both sides, although none were buttoned at the moment, and black leggings tucked into high black boots. Underneath, she had on a silk white shirt and deep purple waistcoat, with matching silver buttons. The entire ensemble had been carefully tailored to her form and fit her perfectly.

What if Regina thought she looked ridiculous? Emma ran her hands down her front once more. Even Ruby, despite her original misgivings, had assured her that she looked ‘great’, but Emma wasn’t sure. What if Regina thought it was weird she wasn’t wearing a dress? What if she regretted inviting the blonde to come? Maybe this was all big mistake.

She surveyed the ballroom below her, it truly looked like something out of one her books. The entire room shone, lit by more candles than she’d ever seen used at once here. She hadn’t appreciated how large the room was, nor how magnificent it was until it had been polished into this magnificent site. There were also more, people she supposed, gathered in hall than she’d even seen inside. It seemed even the outside workers were invited in for the ball, filling the room with the oddest collection of handsomely dressed objects she’d ever seen. Everyone, from the sewing manikins, to Jiminy the cricket, to the stable life-size marionettes, was dressed in their finest. Evidently the seamstresses worked for months creating new outfits for each member of the household who could wear one in preparation. The downside was that the sudden audience was enough to make Emma very nervous, especially up on the staircase waiting for Regina herself.

Henry was even cuter as a flesh and blood boy as he was a statue with his ruffable brown hair and matching brown eyes. True to tradition, no one had seen Regina all morning. Her own gown was kept a secret, picked up earlier in the week, and put on by herself in her private wing. No one ever saw the queen until the ball started. Ruby swore it was worth it every year though, the rest of the staff agreeing. What would Regina look in her human form? Would she act differently? Would they be able to keep up the easy camaraderie they’d fallen into?

So consumed by her thoughts, she nearly jumped out of her skin when a cough came from behind her. Her gaze jerked to the mirror where Sidney gave her a stern look and turned to the right wing staircase. “Her majesty, Queen Regina,” he announced, his voice confident and projecting.

Emma instantly froze, her heart beat accelerating, as everyone stopped to applaud for their queen. Get a grip, Swan. It’s just Regina. She took a deep breath again, managing to get a hold of her rapidly beating heart. It had about a few seconds of calm and was almost under control when it stopped briefly, all breath leaving Emma as she caught sight of Regina.

There, at the top of the stairs, stood a gorgeous brunette—not a trace of fur on her. She still didn’t quite look human, more like a goddess. She seemed to float down the stairs, her deep purple dress flowing around her. It was a true ball gown with a full skirt pleated up to reveal a black underskirt, black stitched embroidery on the bodice and skirt to match. Her shoulders and arms were almost obscenely bare, it seemed to the blonde, after all the fur. Only the two straps that crossed her upper arms and a heavy opal amulet broke up the glorious olive skin. Her eyes were still the same, the dress matching and highlighting her purple eyes as they swirled with mischief.

Emma realized she was staring and yet she couldn’t seem to help herself as she took the other woman in. She suddenly could care less what she herself looked like, it was worth wearing any outfit if it meant she got to see Regina like this. Regina could laugh her off the stairs and order her back to her room, and it would be totally, completely worth it.

Emma, of course, had nothing to fear. Regina took in the sharply suited up blonde, delighted at the unique choice of dress, and found it suited the blonde perfectly. The complicated braid up the side of her head was inspired and she noticed how the purple in the outfit complemented her own gown. It was also perfectly tailored to the younger woman’s frame, which it accentuated marvelously. 

“It appears you clean up nicely, Miss Swan.” Regina’s red lips curved in a smirk and Emma had to struggle to draw her eyes away from the sight. Regina had enough of a presence normally, but like this, human, in such a good mood and all dressed up? Emma didn’t stand a chance.

“You too,” was all she managed to get out.

Regina smiled at the awestruck tone. “Thank you, dear. Now, are you going to offer me your arm?” she asked with a raised brow.

Emma blinked, “Oh, of course.” She held out a jacketed arm which Regina laced with her own. They descended the stairs together.

Henry had been standing with Ruby as they watched Regina and Emma come down the stairs. He was wearing a suit that was a near replica of Emma’s, although simpler in design and less fitted. He was adorable as he practically jumped up and down with excitement, trying to look everywhere at once. Once the couple had reached the base of the stairs, he couldn’t contain himself any longer. Ruby felt his hand pull out of hers and could only watch in surprise as he ran over to the queen and Emma. She hoped he wouldn’t annoy the queen, even though Emma had said she talked to her about Henry being there.

Granny, who had turned from preparations to look at Henry, copied her shocked expression when Henry ran up the pair, managed a little bow, and then began talking excitedly, not Emma, but to the queen instead. Ruby nearly keeled over when the queen smiled down beautifully at the little boy. Even including the past New Moon Balls, she had never seen the brunette look so, so human. Emma had said she’d talked to the queen and made sure she was alright with Henry attending the ball, but it looked like she had done far more than that.

Then Henry grabbed the queen’s hand and began tugging her over to where Ruby and Granny were. To their great surprise, the queen let herself be led, Emma echoing her smile as they spoke over the boy’s head.

“Granny! Ruby!” Henry said excitedly. “This is my Aunt Gina!” Granny and Ruby’s mouths fell open in shock while the queen merely looked smug. Henry turned to Regina, “Aunt Gina, this is Granny and Ruby.”

The queen’s smooth voice was full of thinly veiled amusement as she stared down at the little boy, “Yes, Henry. I know who they are.” Her eyes flicked up to meet the shocked ones of her staff, “I wouldn’t have let just anyone care for my nephew.”

Belatedly, Ruby remembered to curtsy, and Granny did a slight bow/dip, which was all she could manage in her form. Regina gave them a regal nod of acknowledgement. “Miss Lucas, Widow Lucas.” She glanced around the room, “The ballroom looks magnificent, you may have out done yourselves this year.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” the surprise was evident in Granny’s voice, although whether it was because of the compliment or still due to the reveal of her relationship with Henry was impossible to tell.

“Everyone helped out a lot,” Ruby managed. Emma had a suspicion that if she could, the wolf girl would have been blushing. It seemed not even Ruby was immune to Regina’s charm when she looked so beautiful and was being so nice.

Regina nodded at that. Henry chimed in, “Yeah! Everything looks really different than when we usually have dinner!” Then he turned to Regina, “How come you never eat with us?” He looked up with curious eyes and a slight pout.

Ruby and Granny looked alarmed, but Regina merely smiled down at the boy, “Queens eat with a great deal of manners, pomp, and nice clothes. I’m sure you’d find you much prefer eating without my presence making everything formal and interrupting everyone else’s meal.”

Henry still pouted as though he didn’t find think that answer made enough sense for him. Emma could see that, however Regina was going about saying it, she meant that she didn’t want to make the servants uncomfortable. “Of course,” the younger woman said, drawing their attention, “Henry could probably eat with us for part of our dinner, right?” She couldn’t stop herself from tacking that on at the end, suddenly worried she was overstepping.

Both of their eyes lit up at the suggestion, for all that Regina quickly tried to put on a neutral expression. “Surely, he’d prefer to eat with his friends.”

Henry frowned, “You don’t want me to eat with you?”

Regina’s eyebrows shot up in alarm, her face far more expressive without all the fur, “Of course not. I would love for you to join us, but…”

“Really?” Henry sounded both excited and slightly suspicious.

“Yes,” Regina said firmly, not wanting there to be any mistake in that regard. “However you don’t have to, dear.”

Henry gave her a look, “Of course I don’t have to. But I want to!”

“You do?”

Regina looked so genuinely confused at the idea someone wanted her company that Emma felt she had to step in, “Then it’s settled.” She was beginning to worry Regina might talk Henry out of an idea they both clearly liked. “We can all have dinner tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Henry said, before the instruments setting themselves up caught his eye and he ran off to study them in his excitement.

“Hey,” Emma said aside to Regina, “I can eat dinner some other time if you and Henry want to—”

Regina looked at her sharply, “Nonsense. I do not suffer from an inability to dine with more than one person. Henry would want you there. We already promised.”

“Alright,” Emma agreed, ducking her head a bit to hide her pleased smile.

“If your majesty doesn’t mind,” Granny spoke up. Regina nearly jumped, both she and Emma had clearly forgotten the teapot and her granddaughter were still there. “I still have things to oversee, some of the others will cause all sorts of problems if I’m not there to watch them.”

“Of course,” Regina said with a regal nod. “I did not mean to keep you.”

Granny had the oddest look on her face, but she simply gave another attempt of a bow, “Your majesty.” The cart she always traveled on wheeled her away.

Henry ran back over to them, “Aunt Gina! Aunt Gina! Come see this!” He grabbed her hand and tugged the brunette over the way he had gone. Heads, or what served as them, turned in astonishment as their queen was more or less dragged along by the little boy, or perhaps it was merely the soft look on her face as she followed him with not even a hint of protest.

Emma felt her smile widen at the sight and made to follow them as well before someone else pulled her own arm. She turned in surprise the see Ruby. “You knew Henry was the queen’s nephew!”

Emma smirked and shrugged. “Yup.”

Ruby just glared at her, outraged, “How come you didn’t tell me!”

Emma looked smug, “Maybe next time you’ll think before you steal all my clothes. Besides,” she added with a vague gesture, “it was just a harmless surprise, like you were trying to make this ball.”

Ruby growled, but it came off petulant rather than angry. “No fair.”

“Funny, I thought the same thing,” Emma shot back with a raised brow.

Ruby sighed, “Fine, fine. I’m sorry about that. It was just some harmless fun.”

Emma narrowed her eyes before she grinned, “I know. And so was this. I only found out a few days ago when Henry came to find me after Granny said he couldn’t come. I almost fell over when he ran to Regina when she walked in.”

Ruby laughed, “That’s about what I thought when he ran up to guys just now. Is he really the queen’s nephew?”

Emma nodded, “Basically. It’s kinda complicated, but she certainly loves him like one.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she told me she wants to make him her heir,” Emma clarified.

Ruby raised her eyebrows, “Really? But then why…”

“I think the curse messed everything up. She didn’t say much, but the first few years were hard for her?”

Ruby shuddered, “You have no idea.”

“She said she didn’t trust herself around him and then that she didn’t want to isolate him or confuse him by doing anything after all that time.”

Ruby nodded, “I guess I can see that, but then why do anything now?”

Emma shrugged, “I don’t know, she just must have figured it was time.”

They both heard a loud laugh come from the direction the pair had gone and turned to look. Henry was giggling while Regina looked at him indulgently, a small smile on her face.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so…happy,” Ruby admitted. “Not even before the curse.”

Emma didn’t respond, but she wasn’t at all surprised by Ruby’s statement. Regina didn’t talk much about her past, but Emma could tell that she’d been more or less alone for her whole life, or at least lonely.

“Emma!” Henry called, waving her over to them. Regina looked up and her sparkling purple eyes met Emma’s own.

Emma smiled widely at them, and turned only her body towards Ruby, placing a light hand on her shoulder. “Duty calls,” she joked.

“Right,” Ruby said with a smile almost as wide as Emma’s because Emma’s eyes never left Regina’s as she made her way over to them. Her hope had been growing ever since Emma got here, but now… she was just about as certain as she could get. The curse’s days were numbered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything's still kinda crazy, especially during the week (basically I go to bed super early now). even this weekend end is filled with family stuff, but I wanted to get this one up. Now, in my short free time between everything, I have to go finish up all my Swan Queen Week stuff. Hope you enjoyed the chapter (and sorry the ball scene got split but there ended up being more I wanted to write before it so the rest of it got pushed).   
> Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

While the ball was obviously not as formal as some of the ones Emma had read about in books—how could it be with Regina as the only noble and all of the other guests were cursed servants—it was clear that some modicums of decorum were observed. Regina made her way around, greeting all of the top servants by name: the steward, the Commander in charge of the guards, most of whom were suits of armor, the stable master, the head gardener, and so on. Some of the outside servants couldn’t speak, but Regina was just as polite to them and seemed to understand some of their emotive hand gestures that were practically a language of their own. She supposed with decades stuck in such a position would lead one to learn how to make due.

Emma and Henry were with her in the beginning, introduced politely and calmly by the inscrutable queen who seemed determined to act as if nothing unusual was happening, though her reasons for behaving so were Regina’s own. (Emma suspected amusement at the others expense was at least part of it.) The first were not very good at hiding their surprise at hearing Henry introduced as the queen’s nephew, but Emma suspected that the news was fast spreading as each new person was they spoke toless and less surprised though all were equally interested.

Eventually Henry began to grow bored of all the introductions and polite adult talk, as little boys are want to do. Regina gave him permission to go around with Emma while she continued her greetings, implying that there were a few more who seemed to actually want to speak with her than usual. Emma was secretly rather relieved, everything was getting a bit much for her and she was just as eager to explore the dressed up ballroom as Henry. The pair accepted her offer quickly, running off giggling and leaving the brunette shaking her head at their immaturity. However, that is not to say she wasn’t smiling as she did so.

-x-x-x-

“Miss Swan.”

Emma turned with a slight jump, not having heard Regina come up behind her so quietly. The slight smirk on the brunette’s face was enough to make her suspect she may have done so on purpose. “Hi. All done with your rounds?”

Regina nodded, “Yes. It took me longer than it typically does and so I find myself more than famished enough to begin the feast.”

“Great. Henry!” she called, careful to project her voice, but not yell. The boy had been drawn, once more, back to the instruments and she wanted to cut above the slight clamor that surrounded them. The little brunet looked over at them, his eyes lighting up when he saw his aunt back with Emma. “Food!”

The boy grinned, said a quick goodbye, and began to make his way over to them.

“You did that very well,” Regina complimented. “One would think you had presided over battlefields with that voice.”

Emma blushed and shrugged, “Cities, and especially their marketplaces, can get loud.”

Regina merely nodded at the explanation, knowing from previous experience Emma was terrible at accepting compliments, and didn’t push. “What do you think of the ballroom, now that you’ve thoroughly examined it?” Regina asked with a light tease to her voice.

Emma grinned, “Everything looks wonderful. I can see why we had to eat in the library last night. Actually, I’m surprised this only took two days to pull together.”

“Practice,” was all Regina managed to say before Henry joined them, excitedly asking about the feast. “Come,” Regina said with a smile, leading them to the table on the dais.

Unlike the other times Emma had taken dinner with the queen, all the places at the table were set. Regina moved to her typical seat in the middle of the table, facing the rest of the hall, which was fully lit up for the ball instead of the empty darkness it usually was. Long tables had been set out and all were moving to take places. Regina gestured Henry into the seat opposite her and Emma to the seat to her right. Ruby, per Emma’s request, was opposite Emma and next to Henry. To Regina’s left was one of the people Emma had been introduced to, the stable master if she remembered correctly.

Soon everyone was seated and Regina stood to make a short speech, her clear voice echoing through the room. “Welcome. Another year has passed and still we have endured. Truly this ball shows how, no matter what has befallen us, we are still people, regardless of the curse’s effects on our appearances. Each year I find myself surprised that you have managed to outdo last year and this year is no different. Delicious smells beckon us now, so let the fest begin!”

Even as she regained her seat, wheeled trays were rushing from the kitchen doors filled with the first course of the meal.

-x-x-x-

At first, there wasn’t much conversation as everyone began to eat. Regina seemed to really want to savor her food, mentioning briefly that her cursed form was strictly a carnivore and Emma believed her because she’d never seen anyone eat fruits and vegetables with such pleasure. She was also surprised at how quickly Regina managed to eat all of her food while still maintaining such perfect manners, it was enough to make her slow down so she didn’t look like a complete lowbred fool.

Soon Henry, and Emma, were asking about previous balls. Regina had mentioned off hand that there was a new theme each year and that the staff tried to change certain things so that it never got boring. That had led to the absolute flood of questions from both the child and the child at heart.

The topic was innocent enough, and casual enough, that a few other high ranking servants at their table began to offer what they remembered as well, despite the fact that normally they would have been too intimidated by the queen to do so. Ruby even managed to find the courage to correct something Regina had said, which Regina accepted graciously. Emma was grinning, not just from the fun, but the pleasure of seeing Regina interact with someone besides her, or Henry. The brunette was still rather formal, but she was smiling, her eyes constantly darting between Emma and Henry, as if reassuring herself they were enjoying themselves.

The only spot of trouble came when they were at a bit of a lull, mainly just the three of them talking, when Henry spoke up. “Lady Mal was here for one of the balls, right?” Henry asked, face scrunched as he tried to remember.

The marionette stiffened next to the queen and Ruby shot Regina a panicked look, but the queen ignored them. She had twitched in surprise, but merely continued to smile at the little boy. “Yes, she was.”

“What did her dress look like?”

“It was purple, but it didn’t have as wide a skirt as mine and she was fonder of ruffles than I am.”

Henry nodded wisely, as if that was what he’d thought all along, before looking down the table. “Oh! Aunt Gina, can I go get some of the potatoes down there?”

“We have potatoes right here, dear.”

“I know, but theirs looks better,” Henry explained patiently.

“If you think so, then you may go. Just be careful not bump anyone else.”

“Thanks!” Henry said as he dashed off.

“I am so sorry. He was told not to mention her,” Ruby began to babble apologies.

Regina had her calm, queenly mask up now that Henry had left and she merely held her hand up and Ruby closed her mouth. “It’s alright, Miss Lucas. He is only a child and clearly caught up in the excitement. I am not angry.”

Ruby seemed to sag with relief in her seat, “As you say, your majesty. I’ll just go make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.” She hurried off before Regina could change her mind.

The stable master still managed to convey disapproval, but Regina laid a hand on his arm, “I said all is well, Gerard.” He seemed to meet her eyes and gave a low nod, turning back to his food.

Emma had kept silent throughout the exchange, but only one look at the blonde to her left told her the younger woman was bursting to ask questions. Regina sighed and took a drink from her goblet. “Lady Maleficent was one of my previous guests. I prefer not to talk about them, as everyone well knows, but I would not get angry at Henry when it was simply a childish mistake.”

“Oh,” Emma knew the staff refused to talk about previous ‘guests’, she’d only managed to figure out that there’d been two, a man and a woman, and she couldn’t get any more out of anyone beyond that. “Well, I don’t want to pry…”

Regina gave her a look of such disbelief Emma laughed. “Okay, so I kinda live to pry, but not if it makes you upset.”

“I know, dear.” Regina sighed once more and reached for an apple fritter. “Maleficent came here, oh, seven or eight years ago by castle standards, but at least fifty years ago by your standards. She was a powerful sorceress and had heard rumors of my castle and our plight. She came to see what truth there was to those rumors.”

Emma listened eagerly, noticing that, while they tried to be subtle, none of the people around them were talking loudly or eating much—obviously eavesdropping.

Regina either didn’t notice or didn’t care and went on, “She managed to find the castle, since it’s far easier to come than it is to leave—as you know,” she added with a sly smile. Emma shivered remembering the crazy wolves and glared lightly. Yes, she did happen to remember, but thank you for the reminder, her eyes seemed to say. Regina grinned, showing all her teeth like she’d heard her disgruntled thoughts before taking another sip and her eyes grew slightly unfocused as she thought back. “I suppose I intrigued her. Certainly my magic did, as well as my collection of spellbooks, and the unique curse this place is under. I enjoyed talking to someone new, someone who shared my magical gifts, and she gave me the first hope I had that we could lift the curse—one way or another.”

Emma ignored the almost jealous feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of just how the pair of witches had thought they could break the curse. “But obviously it didn’t work,” she couldn’t help but say.

Regina seemed startled out of her memories. “Yes,” her eyes focused back on Emma, her purple eyes drawing the blonde in. “Obviously. Our magic wasn’t enough and it began to have…adverse side-effects on the castle.” Emma saw someone from the corner of her eyes shiver as if they remembered some of those side-effects personally. “Eventually, we had learned all we could from each other. While it is impossible to make it out of the castle alive by normal means, I have never had problems sending anything besides myself, and the others cursed, away and her magic was the same. She had been very clear, from the beginning, that she had chosen to come here and would leave whenever it suited her.”

Emma tried to read Regina’s expression and between the lines of the story. “So she just picked up and left one day?”

Regina made a careless gesture with her hand. “She had other ambitions. Remarkably obsessed with shape-changing and unicorns. Strange woman really.”

Emma nearly made a comment that Regina really didn’t have the grounds to call anyone else’s life strange, but the purposely dismissive and almost brittle quality to her tone made the blonde keep her mouth shut. “She sounds like an interesting person. Though I’m not sure you could be boring with a name like ‘Maleficent’.”

That brought a small smile to Regina’s face. “A fair point.”

Emma grinned back at her, feeling far too proud of herself for earning such a small smile. Henry came back a few seconds later, causing the women to halt their impromptu staring contest.

-x-x-x-

The instruments had been playing relatively quietly in the background while they ate; now they began to play with new vigor, drawing everyone’s attention. Regina’s smile widened and she met Gerard’s nonexistent eyes. She nodded to him and he stood while she turned to Emma. “It is tradition for the Queen to have the first dance before inviting others to join in. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course,” Emma said with a smile, relieved she didn’t have to dance alone with Regina in front of all these people. She did wish she was more confident in her own dance abilities and could do this with her, but mostly she felt relief. Perhaps she could muster the courage to ask for a dance later in the night, when less of a spotlight would be on Regina. So she ignored the small twinge, which was definitely of jealously, as she watched the pair take to the floor.

Gerard’s suit was black with blue undertones, matching his wife’s dress. Said wife seemed to be friendly with Regina, though not as much as her husband, for all she talked enough for the both of them; she also did not seem to begrudge the queen the first dance with her husband, smiling cheerfully after the pair.

The orchestra struck up a dramatic tune and Regina looked breathtaking as she spun around the floor. She clearly loved dancing, her face lit up with pleasure, her hair whirling ever so slightly around her, Emma fought the urge to sigh after her. The first song bled into the next one and other couple began to join them on the dance floor. After the third dance, Gerard’s wife went to dance with him while the head seamstress took his place dancing with Regina.

-x-x-x-

Emma had been coaxed into one dance with Henry, mainly for fun, before retreating back to her seat to alternatively chat with some of the people still seated and watch Regina longingly—although mostly the later. Ruby rolled her eyes when she came back to the table to find her.

“Come on, Swan. I didn’t give you all those lessons for you not to use them,” Ruby cajoled. Emma blushed a little. It was true. She’d rather insistently dragged Ruby off at least once each day since the idea of the ball had sunk in, remembering Ruby’s mention of dancing with the queen before. Emma knew some dances, but none of them were the type typically danced at balls.

The lessons had been rather painful in the beginning, mainly for Ruby’s feet, but Emma had improved and was now a perfectly adequate dancer. Ruby nudged her, “You’ll be fine. Just go ask.”

It was only after even Henry had danced with the queen, giggling the whole time while she positively beamed, that Emma gathered the courage to ask her herself. “Alright. Alright.” She took a deep breath and stood while Ruby tried to contain her glee. “Alright.” The narrowed eyed glare Emma shot her let her know she was not succeeding.

The current waltz came to an end and the friends made their way to aunt and nephew. Henry was balanced rather carefully on Regina’s feet, still swaying lightly while Regina looked down at him, oblivious to anything else. Ruby tapped the queen on the shoulder, “Mind if I borrow your partner, your majesty?”

Regina spotted Emma, just behind her and so she smiled, “Not at all, Miss Lucas.” She helped the boy down and stifled a laugh at the exaggerated bow he gave Ruby before she drew him away in a dramatic waltz that literally lifted him off his feet to his supreme delight.

The two women watched them leave with fond smiles on their faces until Regina turned around and lifted an eyebrow challengingly to her blonde companion.

Emma’s nerves returned to her before she caught the teasing glint in Regina’s eye. Tonight it was easy to forget that this lovely queen was the same cursed woman she’d been getting to know for months. The look in her eyes was the same though. Emma smiled and offered an only slightly less overdramatic bow than the one the little boy had offered Ruby. When she straightened her eyes held a similar glint in them, “May I have this dance, my queen?”

Regina had to work hard to keep hidden the sudden wave of warmth that pulsed through her at hearing Emma refer to her in such a way. She knew a few others had done so in the past, but she certainly can’t remember any who said it in such away and caused such a visceral reaction in her whole body. She tamped down on her magic, which threatened to literally make her glow, and smiled widely instead, “I would be delighted.”

The pair made their way to the center of the dance floor as other couples moved out of their way. Before Emma knew it their hands were clasped, Regina’s other hand on Emma’s hip while Emma’s arm was around Regina waist. Emma’s breath caught at being so close to Regina, the fancy fabric of Regina’s skirt the only thing really stopping them from being pressed up against each other. “I’m not very good at this,” Emma found herself warning her partner.

“Nonsense,” Regina said with a rather smug smile. “You simply need a good partner.”

That helped Emma regain herself. “Oh?” she replied as they whirled around, the other guests easily forgotten. “Any idea where I might find one?”

“Hush, you.” Regina swatted her hip lightly, but the admonishment was ruined by her wide smile. Emma simply grinned back.

Once Emma began to feel more comfortable with the dance and less like she was about to crush Regina’s poor toes, she decided to take a chance and ask something their earlier conversation had brought to her mind. “Henry implied that Maleficent was around for a ball but your other ‘guest’ wasn’t.”

Regina blinked in surprise at the topic, but was in too good a mood tonight to let the past put a damper on it. Besides, she knew Emma had been curious about previous guests and, while she hadn’t cared much in the beginning, she found she wanted to dissuade the blonde of her assumptions, most likely being that she had murdered them or some other such thing. “Yes. Graham arrived relatively soon after a ball and did not stay for long. He came a decade or so before Maleficent, just after I achieved my control over my cursed form. I warn you, it is not exactly a happy tale.”

Emma merely continued to watch her eagerly as they swirled around the dance floor, neither woman noticing how the other guests watched them, almost eagerly. Regina continued without prompting as it was obvious that Emma wanted to hear more. “He was a forester and heard tales of the demonic wolves. He was very close to wolves, I believe some had looked after him in his youth, and wanted to prove to the locals that there were no “man-hungry” wolves. It took him a week of camping out to stumble upon the castle. I confirmed their existence and so he then tried to meet them himself, despite my warnings.”

Now she could see some worry on Emma’s face, but she was glad it was not of Regina herself, just because of a good story. “He tried to leave the castle, as you did, but purposely seeking out the wolves. He found them. He could tell immediately that they were not normal wolves, but he refused to believe they would hurt him. He attempted to talk to them, to communicate, but after a while they did attack.”

Emma was beginning to be sorry she asked because she did not like the way the pain and regret looked on Regina’s face. “I tried to save him, but he refused to let me hurt the wolves at all. I was able to drag him back to the castle the first couple of times, and he would manage to get them to wait a minute or so longer before attacking each time.” Regina shook her head sadly, “I knew the time would come though when they would overwhelm me or realized he wouldn’t let me hurt them. When that time came, instead of hurting them or letting them hurt him, I managed to transform him into a wolf himself.”

Emma blinked at her in surprise, “You can do that?”

Regina nodded with resignation, “With enough preparation, yes. It wasn’t easy but it seemed the only thing to do at the time. Perhaps I should have simply saved him, wiped his memories of his time at my castle and sent him away.”

Emma frowned, “I guess, but he was a grown man, he knew what he was doing. He had to know how dangerous it was. It was his choice.”

Regina gave a small smile, “I like to think so.” She shook her head as if to rid herself of such sorrowful thoughts. “Enough of that, how about you tell me where you learned to dance?” she asked with a wicked grin.

Emma blushed slightly and made a face at the brunette, “I thought I was doing pretty good!”

Regina simply raised her eyebrows until Emma began to tell of her dance lessons the past few weeks and the couple continued to waltz, barely noticing as one song blurred into two, which blurred into five, completely caught up in one another.

-x-x-x-

As the notes of the next song began to fill the air, Emma felt her nerves growing. The music was beginning to speed up and she had never really moved beyond the slower and basic dances. Regina seemed to sense her growing nervousness and gripped her tighter, “What do you say, Miss Swan? Are you up for this one? You’ve had it easy so far.”

Emma flushed, “I don’t know this dance well is all; I think I tried to practice once? It was one of the ones that didn’t go very well.” That was an understatement, this dance, now that she recognized the tune, despite its drawn out beginning, was the one that had resulted in a bruise that refused to go away for a week. “Perhaps I should wait for the next waltz.”

Regina noticed that Emma was quite anxious, despite the fact that she’d been doing very well for herself until now. It was strangely endearing to see the usually brash young woman so unsure of herself. Still, that would not do. “What if I provide a little assistance?”

Emma met her eyes questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“Would you be adverse to a simple spell? I can enchant your shoes so that they know the steps and you just have to stay upright, if you think you can manage that much?” Regina offered.

Emma gave her a mock glare at the slight to her balance and nibbled her lower lip lightly as she considered it. She was enjoying dancing with Regina a lot, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself—or step on the queen’s toes. But… She took in Regina’s expression. “…You really like this dance, don’t you?”

Regina flushed, “I… It is one of my favorites, yes. You don’t have to dance with me any longer if you truly don’t want to, you know that Emma, don’t you?”

“I know,” Emma replied confidently before giving Regina a brisk nod. “Yes. Some magical help and I’d be happy to keep dancing.”

Regina sent her such a wide smile that Emma knew whatever might happen was worth it. She then felt a small amount of tingling in her feet and then they corrected their position ever so slightly.

“There we go,” Regina said with a satisfied smile. “And just in time too.”

Sure enough, the music had just reached the point at which the dance switched from a fast waltz to a much more complicated and even faster step.

Emma was surprised that, between her newly enchanted shoes and Regina’s confident hold, she was having no trouble keeping up. She let out a laugh of delight that Regina echoed, her eyes shining. In fact, since she had no need to try to concentrate on where her feet were supposed to go, she was able to focus fully on the woman in her arms: the light perfume that filled her nose with the scent of apples, the delicate fabric of the dress and the warmth of the body under it, the way Regina’s hand felt in her own.

Emma had never gotten more than a few steps into the dance and so was surprised by how long it was. By the end, she was out of breath and resolved to learn it on her own so next time she could do it without Regina’s magical help. Maybe Regina could teach her.

“Perhaps now would be a good time for some fresh air?” Regina suggested. Her own cheeks had some good color to them, but the end of the dance had left Emma’s face fairly red.

Emma nodded gratefully and the pair moved to one of the balconies that jutted out from the expanded room.

A gentle breeze brought the cool night air to brush their heated cheeks causing both women to smile gratefully. They found themselves against the railing enveloped in a comfortable silence, enjoying the break from the warm and crowded ballroom.

After a few moments of companionable silence, Emma spoke up, “Hard to see some of the stars.”

“The light from the ballroom,” Regina replied. “Most nights are fairly clear, aside from the season of storms. I was glad to learn the castle kept its view even after the curse.”

“You like to stargaze?”

“Oh, yes. The castle has a better view than my childhood home did and the balcony view from my chambers when I first arrived was quite beautiful. My current rooms are close to the forest and so these days I go to the roof. That’s where the best view is.”

Emma went to make a note to see for herself—maybe she would even run into Regina up there—when another thought brought her up short. Instantly, her mood fell as she remembered she couldn’t go out at night. She tried to quell her sudden anxiety. Instead she blurted out, “Will I be able to get into my rooms tonight?”

Regina frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t normally come back so late and my door will probably be locked by now,” Emma explained, pushing down her trepidation.

Regina still looked puzzled. “Your door would never lock you out.”

“Oh! Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Emma gave a nervous laugh. “Forget it.”

“No. Something is bothering you.”

“It’s nothing,” Emma refused to meet her eyes.

“No, it’s not. Anything that upsets you is very important. What is it?”

“Regina…”

Regina reached forward, grasping Emma’s chin with firm, but gentle fingers. She waited until Emma’s green eyes met hers, “Tell me.”

“My door,” Emma admitted reluctantly. “It locks itself at night. Locks me in.”

Regina let go, allowing Emma to retreat a little and regroup herself, ignoring the way Emma’s warm skin had felt against her fingers. She had heard what Emma was not saying too, that the door being locked scared her. She remembered the blonde’s comments in the past about how much she hated feeling trapped. She had made her a prisoner, Regina felt the guilt that went with that as she always did, but it was this that made her truly feel like one. Regina almost let out a bitter laugh at the irony because it was an accident.

“I—I wish you had mentioned this to me sooner,” Regina said, looking out over the forest, so deceptively close. She could feel Emma’s bewildered gaze on her. “In the beginning, when I was more beast that woman, the nights were especially hard. I had very little control.” Emma gave a nod to show she was listening, although she didn’t know why Regina was telling her things she already knew.

“During a more lucid period I decided to enact a spell to help protect the others. Complex spells were hard to work when I was like that so it seemed to be a good idea at the time. The spell magically locked all the rooms with people in them from around eleven to five so that I couldn’t get in.” A look of dawning comprehension grew on Emma’s face. “It is no longer needed, but I never lifted the spell because it had become habit for everyone and all knew the rules.”

“Oh,” was all Emma could say.

Regina lifted a hand and made some sort of gesture that flared purple. “There. Now the door will only be locked when you physically lock it.”

“Thanks,” Emma said. It was that easy? She’d been panicking on and off about that door for months and all it took…. Slowly a laugh began to build up until she couldn’t contain it anymore.

Regina looked startled and concerned as Emma suddenly burst into laughter beside her. She smiled tentatively, but mostly looked concerned and puzzled until Emma got herself under control. “I’m sorry, I just… It _had_ really upset me and it was just a mistake.”

Regina gave her a cautious smile, as if she wasn’t sure if Emma was making light of it until Regina slipped up and Emma revealed how angry she actually was. To try and mitigate the damage she’d unknowingly caused she quickly offered, “I should make it up to you. I will show take you up to the roof sometime and show you the stars. We can have midnight dessert and I can point out the constellations.”

Emma was about to say that Regina didn’t need to do anything for her, but… she really wanted to look at the stars with the brunette. So she just smiled, “Alright.” Regina smiled before turning back to look out over the forest. Emma mirrored her and they went back to enjoying each other’s presence before Emma couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of dessert?”

Regina laughed and turned to meet Emma’s eyes once more. She was surprised to find the younger woman was much closer than she’d realized, the couple having unconsciously gravitated closer together. The sudden proximity sent her heart racing and her magic tingling, or perhaps that was just the result of Emma’s presence. Either way Regina began to feel a bit lightheaded. What had Emma asked?

Emma was positive that Regina’s eyes were deeper and more purple than ever before. Maybe it was because the strange eyes, in a way, suited the beast-sorceress-queen, but on just Regina they managed to look truly breathtaking. She felt as though she could stare into them for hours, following the swirls and eddies the purple magic created, but it was really the breadth of emotion her eyes managed to convey that drew Emma in so completely.

“I…” Regina began, before finding the thread of the conversation once more. She smiled indulgently, “Whatever you wish.”

Emma grinned back at Regina, barely aware of what they were talking about. She found her gaze darting from mesmerizing eyes to full red lips, so close to her own.

Regina felt her breath even out, caught in Emma’s shinning eyes, as she wondered how she’d ever gotten so lucky to get to know the woman standing next to her. Her hand, still clutching the balcony railing itched to find its place on Emma’s waist once more, where it had been while they danced. Her other hand, previous hanging limp at her side, reached up to a stray strand of blonde hair that had come loose from Emma’s braid and tucked it behind her ear.

Emma’s breath faltered as Regina leaned that little bit closer as her hand gently push her hair aside. She suddenly needed to be even closer. If she just gathered the courage and pressed her lips to Regina’s, only an inch or so away from her own…

“Aunt Gina! Emma!”

The sound of Henry’s voice, so close to the corner of the balcony they’d inadvertently hidden themselves away in, had the women springing apart automatically and looking around in dazed confusion. A little boy’s head popped into view, pushing aside on of the curtains that hung by the entrance back to the ballroom. “There you are,” the boy whined plaintively before yawning widely.

A split second later, a harassed looking Ruby came into view. She was panting and blushed when she saw how close Regina and Emma were still standing and the looks of surprise and confusion still adorned their faces—all clearly pointing to the fact that the little boy had interrupted a private moment. “I’m so sorry,” Ruby said, mortified.

Henry merely yawned once more before running over to them, burying his face against Regina’s waist. She leaned down and scooped him up. He snuggled into her, “Ruby said it was time for bed, but I wanted to say good night to you first. You too Emma,” he added, blinking sleepily at the blonde.

“That was very thoughtful of you, Henry,” Regina said, any hint he’d disturbed the couple completely hidden behind one of her impenetrable masks. Henry nodded against her, worn out from all the excitement.

Emma leaned forward to ruffle his hair lightly, “Long night, kid?”

“So much fun,” he mumbled into Regina’s neck causing both women to chuckle softly. They made the unspoken decision to begin walking back to the room.

Ruby waited for them by the curtain, clearly charmed by the sight, although looking rather tired herself.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, but softer. “He was off and going between people out of reach before I could catch him.”

“It’s alright, Miss Lucas,” Regina reassured her. “In fact, I think I’ll take him to bed myself.” She nudged the little boy a bit, “Say goodnight to Emma, dear.”

“’Night, Emma,” Henry said, raising his head just enough to meet her eyes.

The blonde smiled fondly, “Good night, Henry.”

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Regina promised, before disappearing in a whoosh of purple smoke.

Emma continued to stare at the spot she’d been with a small smile.

“So…” Ruby spoke up, wondering if Emma had forgot she was even there. Emma jolted back to herself, turning to look at the wolf girl. “I hope Henry didn’t interrupt anything,” her tone was half teasing, half apologetic.

Emma rolled her eyes, but couldn’t suppress her blush as she remembered what she’d been thinking about doing before Henry came. Ruby’s grin widened, but Emma just shook her head and sighed. What had she been thinking? Trying to… Silly really. Henry had saved her from Regina having to slap her, most likely. “Nothing,” Emma sighed, half to herself, half to Ruby, causing the other girl’s smile to fade. “Nothing at all.”

-x-x-x-

Regina did come back, although later than she had expected—something about Henry having woken up enough to ask for a bedtime story. It was later than either of the women had realized though, time having passed them by quickly, and the ball began to wind down soon rather than later.

They danced and talked and ate some more of the many delicious desserts, kept perpetually warm by Regina’s magic, but didn’t find themselves alone together for the rest of the night.

Finally, Regina went to escort Emma back to her rooms. “What if I want a bedtime story?” Emma joked as they made their way down her hallway.

Regina chuckled, “You’re a big girl Emma Swan, read it to yourself.”

Emma grinned back before pulling on a false pout, “What if I asked really nicely?”

Regina just laughed harder at the ridiculous face. “You look like a puppy, Miss Swan.”

That made Emma laugh too, “Can’t blame a girl for trying. And little kid books are so much more fun than adult books. All simple characters and ‘happily ever afters’.”

Regina nodded, “I know, but that’s the problem with growing up.” She sobered slightly, “You learn not every story ends happily.”

The quiet comment made Emma’s heart ache and she found she didn’t want to end such a perfect night on such a sad note. She gently nudged her shoulder as they came to a stop outside her door.

“Some still do. Your story’s not over yet,” Emma said as she turned the knob of the door that led to her rooms. “There’s still time for a happily ever after.” She winked before slipping inside, missing the gentle smile that had spread over Regina’s face and the way the glimmer of hope in her eyes, the one Emma had nurtured slowly over her stay here, had grown.

-x-x-x-

It was only a week or so later that Regina realized she should have known it couldn’t last. That time was never on her side. That she didn’t get ‘happily ever after’s. She looked up, concerned by the look on Emma’s face as she rushed into the room.

“Something’s wrong with Mary Margaret.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're all caught up now with FF and what I have written. The next chapter is high on my list of Things I Need to Write, but I don't think there'll be an update for at least a week or so. i do have some time off so I'm really gonna try and get it done then, but well, I promise that to myself a lot. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and commenting and all the kudos. Can't get enough of all that so please try to find the time to let me know what you think. :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, way later than promised, but this chapter is finally here. It is however, un-beta-ed (my beta is away and without a computer), but I figured you'd rather have it sooner than later. Sorry such a long wait for a shorter than usual chapter. Hope you enjoy anyway!

_“Something’s wrong with Mary Margaret.”_

“What?” Regina asked from her seat, setting her book to the side as she took in Emma’s panicked expression.

Emma strode over and began pacing in front of the seated queen. “I was checking up on her and David—I’ve been doing it more after you told me about how time moves faster outside the castle and I realized her due date would be coming sooner than I expected.”

“Yes, so you’ve mentioned,” Regina said with a nod to show she was following along. She wanted to reach out and comfort Emma in some way, but she had no idea how to do that. So she sat and watched.

Now Emma nodded, “Right and I was looking in on them today and she started going into labor.”

“Oh,” Regina said, trying to ignore the guilt that stabbed her in the heart for she knew how much Emma wanted to be there to meet her new niece or nephew.

“But something’s gone wrong!” Emma said, using her hands to emphasize her frustration. “It’s still too early and the doctor was saying that the baby isn’t coming out right or something. I didn’t understand most of what he said, but it looks like either the baby, or Mary Margaret, or both, might not make it!”

Emma was panting as she stood there helplessly and she looked so lost and upset that Regina couldn’t stand it. She stood up and swept across the room until she was in front of a large mirror, Emma trailing behind her distressed and confused.

Regina waved a regal hand over the mirror and it blurred with purple for only a few seconds before it cleared to show Mary Margaret. The younger brunette was lying in bed, a terrified looking David clutching her hand, and an older, short, man stood in front of them. Regina felt a pang of sympathy for the obviously exhausted and in pain woman. She waved her hand once more to bring them sound.

_“…sorry. There isn’t much that I can do. We’re too isolated out here for me to have all the ingredients I need and this is a very rare event,” he tried to reassure the pair, the doctor was clearly distressed at having to be the bearer of bad news._

_A devastated David pleaded, “Isn’t there anything you can do?”_

_“I can make her comfortable and be here in case the situation manages to sort itself out. It is possible or even that my reading of the situation is direr than it will turn out to be. Sometimes this will fix itself without outside intervention,” but it was obvious that was a very low chance._

_Mary Margaret closed her eyes briefly before looking at the doctor with hazy eyes, “Will the baby be alright?”_

_“I don’t know,” the doctor admitted. “It’s a less than a quarter chance for the baby, how early they are coming is making any already bad situation worse.”_

_“Her,” Mary Margaret corrected gently._

_“I beg your pardon?”_

_“The baby is a girl. I can tell,” Mary Margaret insisted._

_“Of course,” the doctor reassured her. His eyes were sad as they moved from one to the other, “I’ll give you a few moments of privacy.” He left the room and David hugged Mary Margaret close, tears falling into her hair._

Regina turned from the mirror, unable to watch any longer. She looked at Emma who was pale and shocked, as well as looking rather ill. “Emma…” she said gently, but then she realized she had no follow-up. She was unable to abide false reassurances herself and couldn’t find it in her to offer them to the blonde.

Emma took a step back from the couple in the mirror. Her poor brother, her poor sister, her poor niece, why couldn’t she do something to help them? They deserved to be happy together. She raged once more about being stuck in this castle even though she knew that if she was there, she wouldn’t be able to help. But at least she could be there, with them.

Then an idea occurred to her. “Can… Can you do anything?” she turned to Regina suddenly, eyes over bright. “You have magic. Can’t you fix this somehow?”

Regina sighed, a hand instinctively going to rest on Emma’s upper arm. She had already thought of that. “I can’t leave here, remember? And my magic can’t reach that far away from me. I’m not even that good at healing magic.”

“But…” Emma was desperate; she knew she was grasping at straws. “But you sent David home. That means your magic _can_ reach that far.”

“Sending someone who’d only been here for a few hours on a one way trip, is very different than trying to heal someone from this distance. Even before the curse, I could not have done so without going to them and even then,” she wrung her hands together, not remembering the last time she had felt so useless, felt so trapped. “I still don’t know that I could heal whatever is wrong. Pregnancy is very complicated and I…”

Emma finally noticed how upset Regina was as well at the uncharacteristic loss of words. Instantly she felt ashamed; for Regina to have so plainly admitted she couldn’t do something, exposing a weak spot in the usual flawless persona she only let fall when she was unconsciously, was telling enough. Emma backed off, “It’s fine. You’re not a miracle worker. I don’t know why I thought…”

The disappointment and frustration in Emma’s voice was like a knife ripping through Regina’s heart. Emma had thought she could help her, that she could do something positive for the blonde for once and Regina had fallen short. Then something caught her attention. She had left the mirror with the sound on and… What had the doctor just said?

Regina’s head snapped around to the mirror. Her focus intensified. “Wait a moment. Is that what’s wrong?”

“What? What is it?” Emma asked, confused by Regina’s abrupt shift in focus.

“I’ve heard of this condition,” she said slowly, absorbing what the doctor was saying. Her mind raced, “The cure is not physical healing—it’s a medical concoction, a potion.”

“So? What does that mean?”

“That means I can help,” Regina admitted, her head already spinning as she tried to remember that particular potion.

“You can?!” Emma sounded shocked, but Regina barely noticed.

“Grab my arm, dear. We need to go to my workroom.” Gone was the woman worried for her love and the queen, a queen who knew exactly what she needed to do no matter the personal cost, was back in control.

Emma instantly obeyed, latching onto Regina’s arm as a tentative wave of hope spread through her. The pair disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

-x-x-x-

Emma paced nervously behind Regina as she measured and poured, adding magic to complex vials. Normally, Emma would have found this behind-the-curtains look at Regina and her magic riveting, but she was too preoccupied by the trouble Mary Margaret was in to appreciate it.

“So this potion. It’ll help?” Emma asked, unable to wait in silence any longer

“Yes. I made it once for practice years ago, having come across it in one of my spellbooks,” Regina answered, not looking away from what she was doing. “It has a few rare ingredients which is why your sister’s physician would be hard pressed to make it himself, but I have had years to build up my collection.”

“So Doc could make this too? I thought it was magical,” Emma asked, her brow furrowed. She had recognized one of Mary Margaret’s cousins as the doctor helping her. She knew he didn’t have any sort of magic.

Regina narrowed her focus to what she was working on, blocking out any stray thoughts that might divert her mind and cause her to falter in her decision, keep her from doing what she knew she had to do. “Yes and no. You can make this without magic and it will work, to an extent. It is still the best solution to the problem, but it is not a guarantee. Augmenting it with actual magic and adding a couple of extra, more magical in nature, ingredients makes it into a potion that _will_ work.”

“The potion is complex and must be done with care, but not especially difficult. It does not require very precise movements nor does it need to be made at a certain time or on a specific day. It does not have to sit either, that is why it is one that is often prepared for practice. It does not go bad for a couple of years and since the condition is rare, having it around is helpful, but often unnecessary. Therefore, it is good for practice, as I made it for years ago.”

Regina’s detailed explanation actually helped center Emma and calm her down, at least to an extent. “So this will work. If you do this right and Mary Margaret drinks it, she’ll be fine.

“Barring any further unforeseen circumstances, yes,” Regina said, pouring in the herb she’d just ground up into the larger bottle she was mixing ingredients in. “Unlike the healing arts, I happen to enjoy and be rather skilled at potion making. My potions work.”

Despite Emma’s tendency towards cynicism, preferring to expect the worst so that she wasn’t let down, she could feel real hope for the first time since she had realized Mary Margaret’s labor was going wrong. She watched, some fascination replacing some of her fear and worry. She could see the woman’s concentration clearly under the furry face and the sureness of the hands that measured the next piece that was going in.

Regina stirred the concoction three times, muttering under her breath, only glancing at the book open next to her occasionally. The queen’s confidence helped Emma begin to regain her footing and think more logically, until she thought of another problem with their plan. “But even if you send them the potion,” Emma pointed out. “They might not see it in time or trust it enough to use it. I know if the answer to my problems just appeared by magic in an unmarked bottle, I wouldn’t touch it even if I did see it in time.”

“I know,” Regina responded calmly, separating the potion into two bottles. The smaller one she sealed while she continued to add to the other. “That is why you are going to have to go back as well, to tell them what the potion is for and what to do with it.”

“Oh,” Emma nodded as she went back to pacing. “Right, of course.” Then she froze and nearly gave herself whiplash when she turned her head around to stare wide-eyed at the queen. “Wait, what?!”

“You heard me,” Regina replied shortly, her voice giving nothing away although her body language was stiff. She added a hair to the unstoppered bottle which caused the potion to give off purple steam making her smile in grim satisfaction.

“Regina, whoa,” Emma’s long legs quickly covered the distance between the two women. “Hold up. Just wait a minute. Don’t pull this with me” she pled, slowly and carefully placing a hand on the brunette’s upper arm. The older woman still flinched ever so slightly and refused to look at the younger woman, though she did stop moving. “Please repeat what you just said.”

Regina took a deep breath, putting down one of her pouches. Then she turned her head, looking Emma straight in the eye and enunciated, “You will need to go with the potion to ensure it is used properly.”

“You’re letting me go back home?” Disbelief and wonder filled the blonde’s voice.

Regina called upon years of carefully modulating her voice to help her make sure no emotion escaped, “Yes.” The answer was so simple and clear that Emma had no idea how to respond. Regina gently tugged her arm free and began to grind the tip of some sort of horn in a small bowel.

Emma’s mind raced as it tried to keep up with all of the emotional upsets she was experiencing. Was Regina really letting her go home? Even if it was only to save Mary Margaret and her unborn baby. “I… Am I going to have to come back? How long can I be there for?”

Regina made a nearly imperceptible jerking motion as she fought the urge to lie, “I cannot bring someone here. I can only keep people here and send people away.”

“So you’re just letting me go home?” Emma’s voice was filled with disbelief. “Just like that?”

It was the undercurrent of hope that nearly broke Regina. She knew Emma wanted to leave, she’d always known. Of course, she wanted to escape this prison. And Regina was aware, painfully so at times, that she was the one keeping her here. A situation that she was letting get worse the longer Emma stayed. She knew she was selfish, a point driven home by the contained joy she could hear in Emma’s voice.

It was time for Regina to let go. To stop being selfish. To do what she knew was best for Emma. “Yes, I am.”

Regina had paused so long Emma had thought she wasn’t going to answer, the sorceress so focused on the various ingredients she was combining, that when she once more confirmed that she was sending Emma home, it was all the blonde could do to stare at her in continued shock as all manner of emotion rolled through her.

Regina bent down, stoppering the final bottle and beginning to writing something down in elegant script, ignoring the other woman’s presence as best she could—which meant not at all.

Emma tried to get a grip on the situation. Between Mary Margaret’s sickness, Regina’s cure, and the news she was finally going home, she felt scared, relieved, confused, and happy all at once—and those were only the emotions she could easily identify. She even felt a little disappointed that Regina was giving her up so easily

“Here,” Regina said, handing Emma as wooden box separated into compartments, each with a different bottle in them. “They are all labeled. There are two doses of the cure, one magical and one non-magical in case the magic of this place affects my magical ingredients in ways I am unaware of when they leave the premises. These two will help restore blood loss, and one for energy. This last one is for the baby after she’s born, small amount over the next few days will help with expedite any underdevelopment due the premature labor. Do not let them be taken all at once and—well, I’m sure the doctor will know what to do with them once you vouch for their genuineness.”

“Regina… I… I don’t know what to say,” Emma could feel Regina cutting her off, throwing up walls so fast Emma felt rather taken aback. She tried to meet purple eyes and convey the depth of gratitude she felt for the other woman at the moment, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Regina responded, her queenly mask in place.

“But what about—” Emma tried to say.

“I’ll send the rest of your things either with you or as soon as I can. There might be some problems separating you from the curse,” Regina couldn’t help but warn, “But you should be fine, I’ll take care of that.”

“Oh, right.” Emma blinked, she hadn’t even thought of that, “That’s not really—”

“Mary Margaret doesn’t have a lot of time,” Regina said briskly.

“Right, right, yeah. Tell Ruby and everyone I said “bye”, I guess,” Emma sounded completely bewildered, her brain still not yet caught up with what was happening.

“I will,” Regina promised. “Goodbye, Miss Swan.”

“Goodbye, Regina.”

Purple smoke engulfed her entire body as Regina’s magic wrapped around her to send her home. Emma frowned, clutching the box of potions so tightly her fingers ached; something felt off. This didn’t feel like it did a little while ago when Regina poof-ed them both up to her workroom. Then it had been a warm, tingling sensation and the brief feeling of no floor under her feet before the sudden thump of a landing. The whole trip had felt like it barely lasted a second or two.

This time it felt like something else, something besides Regina’s magic, was tightening around her and trying to prevent her from leaving. Phantom tendrils seemed to grip and grasp at her. She swallowed her sudden fear, was something going wrong? The smoke suddenly thinned and she got a glimpse of Regina’s face, screwed up in concentration and…was that pain?

Before she could see more clearly, the smoke condensed once more. The feeling of being tied in place vanished as if forcibly severed and she felt the sensation of the ground moving underneath her.

When the fog finally cleared once more, it all vanished completely, leaving Emma stumbling as she landed roughly, dizzy. She stared stupidly at the front door to David’s cottage. She blinked, before she shoved her feelings about what had just happened, about Regina, and about finally being home to the side. Mary Margaret needed her.

“David! Mary Margaret!” Emma called as she burst through the front door of the cottage.

The other people’s heads snapped to the door so quickly Emma was actually worried they might have hurt themselves. “Emma?!” the couple and Doc asked.

-x-x-x-

Miles away, high in her castle tower, the walls shook as the witch fell to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently had a bunch of inspiration for how exactly I want the next parts to go and while this chapter was a bit shorter than usual the next chapter is probably going to be pretty long. That's just how this seemed to work out. I plan on having a relatively short turn around (around two weeks), but seeing as this one ended up way later than I ever planned, idk if that will actually happen.
> 
> My internship did end this past week so I should have more time for writing and all that, but you know how time always flies by. This story is definitely one of my top priorities though.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who continues to read, bookmark, and especially to those who comment. You all make me ridiculously happy. :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miracle of miracles, I have managed to post two chapters in one month; granted it was at the very beginning and the very end, but still, I think I should get points for trying. (It would have been up a little sooner but my beta was crazy busy yet still managed to find to fit this in so lots of thanks to her) ;)

"How did you escape?" David asked, unable to wait any longer.

"And how did you get the medicine I needed, let alone know I needed it?" Mary Margaret added, cuddling her baby close to her as if she still needed reassurance everything had worked out.

It was the morning after Emma's sudden appearance in the doorway with the answer to all their problems, from Mary Margaret and the baby's health to their missing her. Initially, she had managed to put off their questions easily once she had shown them and Doc the cure she held, but now with all the excitement over and everyone safe, the couple could not contain their questions.

Emma fussed briefly over her new niece, Ruth, before sighing. She prepared herself for an argument as she knew they wouldn't be able to accept what she was telling them at first—that was why she had put off the questions when she could. "I didn't escape. The Queen gave me the cure and sent me home."

Uncomprehending silence greeted her words.

"I—You—Huh?" David tried, but he clearly had no idea where to begin.

Mary Margaret frowned, "I'm sorry, but why would the evil queen who kidnapped, turn around and set you free _and_ give you the medicine I needed? That just doesn't make any sense than it seems.

"She's not evil," Emma corrected reflexively. "She's just….complicated. Everything's way more complicated."

David looked so lost, "I know you said you never had to stay in the dungeon and you weren't alone, but I still don't get how that lead to her just letting you go."

Emma ran a hand through her hair. "The whole castle is cursed. Everyone was like, normal and stuff, but after this war—which they won—a fairy came and cursed them all. The curse stops time and turned them all into weird beasts or enchanted objects. And they can't leave until the curse is broken."

Mary Margaret gasped, "How horrible!"

"I know. While I was there I got to know a lot of them pretty well and most of them are actually really nice, even the Queen. I think she was really just lonely and wanted someone new to talk to—you just happened to catch her on a bad night. Or, did you do something to piss her off?" She had been wondering about that for a while. Regina was more likely to start off with her ice queen mask on before blowing hot enough to imprison someone.

David glared before looking off to the side, his expression becoming rather petulant.

"David…" Mary Margaret asked, seeing and recognizing the look.

"Well, I don't know. I may have been….surprised when I saw her," David admitted. At the raised eyebrows that met him he protested defensively, "What? She was a terrifying beast! So I may have yelled and thrown a tray or two. Maybe an endtable."

Emma rolled her eyes, "That would have done it. Regina's got a bit of a temper, more than a bit really. She freaked me out the first week or so, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut so it's not totally her fault." Emma sent the couple a glare when they nodded knowingly about her comment about her foot-in-mouth syndrome. "You don't have to agree so quickly, you know."

David grinned, "I'm pretty sure it's part of being your brother."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Of course. The point is that I got to know her and she's one of the most…" Emma frowned as she struggled to come up with the right words. David and Mary Margaret still looked skeptical, but also like they were trying to hear what she was saying.

"Urgh, I don't know. She agreed to let me send my letter and Pongo and Philippe home. She let me use this magic mirror to see that you were alright when she first sent you home—she let me keep it so I could check on you guys and that's how I knew what was going on. I completely freaked out. I was so worried about you," Mary Margaret placed a hand on Emma's arm and smiled warmly at her.

Emma returned her smile, only a slight blush on her cheeks—the part of her that still felt like an orphan perpetually surprised at the family she had now. "Regina was the one who knew what you needed. Regina was the one who brewed up the cure. And Regina was the one who told me I had to go with it. And she could have told me I had to come back—and I would have—but she didn't. She gave me the cure and sent me home. She even remembered to send Jaune with me."

Mary Margaret's eyes were shiny as she leaned down to kiss her daughter's head. "Did she really do all that?"

"Yes," Emma replied firmly, knowing Mary Margaret wasn't doubting her, but wanting to make sure they understood what she had done for them.

"If she did that for us and you are not angry over your imprisonment," David said, "then I see no reason for us to be." Mary Margaret nodded in agreement. "She has our gratitude."

Emma gave a small, almost proud, smile. She had been able to push aside thinking, and more importantly feeling, about what had happened, but this was forcing her to confront it. She missed Regina, more than she had expected. It had only been one day and yet the knowledge that she would never see the queen again made it seem like it had already been far longer.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions, when a thought occurred to her. Why did it have to be the last time? She knew Regina wouldn't try to keep her there again. So why couldn't she go back to visit Regina, and everyone else, once everything to do with the baby calmed down? Why couldn't she visit Regina, in as soon as a month or two, and go back and forth, with Regina's magic to send her home so she wouldn't have to cross the wolves?

She smiled widely at the couple across the table from her, "I'll be sure to let her know."

-x-x-x-

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty!" It was an old woman's insistent voice that pulled Regina from the edges of blackness. Instantly, her magic reacted, moving over her in the form of miniature lightning bolts. She ignored the noise of the people that must be around her as they gasped and focused on what her magic was telling her. She'd only had a few moments before she collapsed and she hadn't been sure the spellwork she'd woven had taken.

She smiled grimly as she realized she had succeeded. She gritted her teeth against the stinging sensation that was her magic mixed with the curse's—making it a very dark purple indeed—and pried open her eyes. The mixing of the magics was why the blots stung her as they were not entirely her own magic and so she was not protected from them as she normally would be.

She was grateful that it was dim torchlight that greeted her rather than the piercing rays of the sun, for all that meant she had remained unconscious for the greater part of the day. "Yes, yes," her voice was rough, as if she hadn't spoken in days instead of hours. "I am awake."

"Oh, your majesty, what happened here?" the cricket asked.

"The walls started shaking!" a man's voice asked. "The ground too!"

"We couldn't find you," Ruby admitted, "and we know we're not supposed to be in here," for Regina's workroom was in the forbidden West Wing, "but we were scared!"

"We found you lying on the ground and we can't find Emma anywhere," the first voice, Widow Lucas' she belatedly realized, continued.

"I will explain everything in a moment," Regina said, sitting up, "but I require a moment to breathe." She emphasized this with a sharp work and the multitude of forms hovering over her quickly backed up. Part of Regina, the part that sounded very much like her mother, said that she didn't owe anyone an explanation—let alone servants. However, the part that sounded most like herself wanted to explain and knew they needed to know, that they deserved to know.

However, the further she brought herself to consciousness the worse the pain got and she needed to stay still, move slowly, so as not to make it worse. She tried to distract herself by focusing on why she did what she did and reaching out with her magical senses to reassure herself that everything had gone according to plan.

She felt the threads of power that ran throughout the castle, the curse running through everything and everyone. She took a deep breath and made to stand up. A strong wooden arm pressed against her back and a matching hand appeared in front of her. She looked up to see Gerard standing over her. Despite her confusion as to what the stable master was doing in the house she accepted his help without complaint, knowing her still flaring magical sparks would likely have hurt anyone else.

She stood stiffly, her pride only allowing him to help her up. She released his hand as soon as she was on her feet and he pulled back to give her space for all she could still sense his disapproval of her obstinacy.

"Let us retire to my study," Regina said and began taking deliberate steps from her workroom. She took the time to decide what she was going to say and take notice of who was here. The captain of the guards of the grounds was here, as was the man-at-arms in charge of the palace guard. All of the heads of the various servants were here too. She was momentarily puzzled by the few minor servants until she recognized the common factor among them was that they were closest to Emma. She looked at Granny, "Henry?"

"Downstairs, my queen. He is fine, but since we did not know what we would find, he was left downstairs with Ella—despite his vigorous protests," Granny answered.

Regina gave a nod; that was good. The maid was fond of him and competent with children. She would speak to Henry personally after this—without an audience. She did not want to think on that conversation, she knew he loved Emma and saw her as the savior—he would not accept what had happened easily.

With her heart nearly as heavy as her whole body felt, she opened the door to her study and everyone filed in after her. She tried not to make her exhaustion evident as she gratefully sank into her desk chair. She placed her hands on her desk, trying to draw strength from the solid wood of the desk and to mask the way her hand wanted to shake under the strain of the only slowly fading stings of the dwindling lightning bolts. The curse was at war with her own magic, trying to overwhelm it. It would not succeed, but neither could she drive it off or mitigate its symptoms. It was not a pleasant experience.

She looked at the group, still whispering to each other. Slowly, they felt the weight of her gaze and fell quiet.

She waited another moment before announcing with no build-up, "Miss Swan is gone."

The room echoed with the following silence. It was Ruby who broke it, her voice full of confusion, fear, and a sort of desperate optimism. "What, what do you mean?"

"I sent Emma home," Regina replied evenly.

"What?" Granny asked in a shocked and almost horrified whisper. She was echoed by a number of others.

"Why?" Ruby asked, her tone despairing.

Regina gave them a stern look, for all she felt their pain. "Her sister and niece were _dying_." That brought most of the looks up short. "I fixed up the cure and sent her back home with it. You are all aware that I can't bring anyone to the castle, only send them away."

Granny narrowed her eyes, "That's why the castle was in such upheaval. Emma's leaving did that." She remembered vividly the effects of the experiments Lady Maleficent and the queen had run and their inability to find Emma had only given more weight to her suspicions.

"Yes," Regina acknowledged. "The longer she stayed here, the further she was woven into the curse. Her months here had its threads wound tight. I had to forcibly cut her out with my magic, it had such a grip on her."

Granny's frown deepened. "That doesn't sound good."

"It is not. If I had not used my magic as I did to cancel out the effects, I assure you with the curse as fragile and as vindictive as it is after all this time, the West Wing would surely have collapsed in on itself and much more damage would have been done."

Ruby couldn't help but break in, "But how could you send her away? She was our last chance!"

"She was not. I will not risk the lives of outsiders for such a long shot. There is no reason to think that she could have done a thing that might have worked," Regina said, eyes flashing as she glared at the overly romantic girl. How many times had fate proven that she would forever be alone and how long would it take for this foolish girl to grasp that?

"So you didn't even try!" Ruby was so furious she didn't care about propriety anymore. Not only was her best friend gone but they were trapped here forever without her to save them from the curse. She knew that Emma was the one, the only one, who could break the curse—she could see the love the other woman held for the queen and it was all for nothing.

"What did you do?" Granny's sharp voice cut it, noticing the way the queen had brushed over how exactly she had prevented the damage she alluded to.

Regina switched her gaze to the older woman, suspecting it would be her who called her out. She pulled on her best blank mask, "I took the threads woven around Miss Swan as well as the frayed ends from the hole I had to send her through and wove them around myself. The curse has been fraying over these years and I used this opportunity to bind all the weak points to myself as they had all been stressed due to the removal of Miss Swan. "

"And what, exactly, are the consequences of doing that?" Archie asked hesitantly.

"It is something I have been studying closely, lo these last few years," Regina began. "My magic informs me that my suspicions are correct. In two weeks' time, I will die and the curse will break."

There was a second of silence before the room erupted into noise as people began talking loudly to each other, or at least gesturing enthusiastically to one another.

"Are you saying that the curse could have broken at any time if you had died?" Victor, the pompous and always unsatisfied chief doctor, now a set of medical gear that hung as if on an invisible body, asked hotly.

He flinched back at the look in her eyes when they met his. "No," she said flatly. "It is in the way I have purposely wrapped and integrated myself into the curse that will ensure this. Previously, my death would have had no effect on the curse beyond that it would have been impossible to break the way the castor had intended. The curse would have slowly disintegrated more quickly and violently without my magic until the castle with all of its inhabitants were destroyed." She had in fact looked into that heavily, especially in the very difficult middle years of the curse, but had not found any way to link her death with the dissolution of the curse until now.

As usual, the queen's speech became more formal and technical as her discomfort with the topic being discussed grew. "My gradual manipulation of the curse as well as my continuous maintenance of it, repairing any unraveling over the decades facilitated this last change as the curse would not have been receptive to this even a decade ago. The curse is alive, in a sense, and had to be, persuaded. Everything had to be done with careful precision or everything would have been destroyed. However, in two weeks the curse will end and you will all be free."

She kept to herself that she would need another full day to make sure the curse was loose enough around each inhabitant for them to slip out of it when it ended. It was irreversible regardless. She had been working on loosening it from her people for years and she was relieved that they seemed loose enough when she was forced to release Emma, but she would need to double check that too.

"Prepare yourselves and the castle. The curse ends and we will be free in a fortnight. Spread the word to those not here. Dismissed," the queen commanded.

Slowly, most of the small crowd left, discussing the most important news since the Queen had first explained the curse that had been cast upon them. The reactions of the others were mixed between excitement, confusion, shock, and disbelief, it seemed all couldn't help but feel just that little bit more hopeful.

A few stayed behind though, such as Granny who was trying to console her granddaughter. Archie and Kathryn studied the Queen from where she sat still, more statue than woman.

Finally Kathryn went forward and waited for Regina to notice her. "You say we will be free, but you will not," Kathryn said, solemn expression betrayed only by the tinge of sadness in her eyes.

Regina reinforced her walls, refusing to give in to any weakness. "I will no longer be cursed."

"Because you'll be _dead_ ," Kathryn refused to let the point go, appalled by how calm the queen was about her own death.

Regina's voice was stone, "All will be as it should be. The castle will rejoin the world and it will flourish under Henry's hands. The boy is my heir and he will grow to be a very fine King indeed."

"But you won't be there to see it," Kathryn insisted. "Hasn't he lost enough family?"

Regina's eyes flared, emotion evident in her voice for the first time since she had begun her explanation at the implication she did not have her last remaining family member's best interests at heart. "He deserves to _live_."

Kathryn could only hold the queen's gaze for another few seconds before she looked down, "Of course, your majesty."

Regina turned from the other woman to look to Widow Lucas, "Please fetch Henry and bring him to me. Do not tell him what has transpired. I will inform him of Miss Swan's departure and the end of the curse myself."

She was glad she had been preparing Henry for being prince, something as a smart little boy he'd begun to ask about after the ball was over and the realization she was Queen had sunk in. Now it would prepare him for being King. That wasn't the part of the coming conversation she was most anxious about. While she was glad he knew her too well to believe some of the things she knew the servants said of her, she was still nervous as to what his reaction would be to knowing she had sent Emma home. She knew how he loved the blonde woman and she could only hope he would forgive her.

-x-x-x-

They were settling down to dinner that night when a knock came from the door. David sighed, but with a smile on his face. People had been stopping by consistently over the last few days, a combination of people congratulating the couple on their daughter and gossips wondering if Emma really had returned. Still, he had hoped they would be left to have their evening meal in peace.

When he opened the door though, he frowned. A figure in a brocade red cloak with the hood pulled up waited on the doorstep. "Hello? Can I help you?"

"Hello, yes. I mean—" The figure's voice was deep for a woman's as she stumbled over her words. She swallowed heavily and tried again, "Is Emma Swan here?"

Emma had stood up when she realized David didn't recognize the person at the door. She had frowned when the person spoke. Their voice sounded strange, as if the person were purposely disguising it and under that, they did sound almost familiar for all she couldn't place who it was. At the request for her, she made her way to the door, appearing behind David, who stepped back.

"Yeah, who's asking?"

"Emma! We need your help," the mysterious woman said urgently, relief at seeing Emma evident in her voice and posture.

"But who are you?"

The figure hesitated, head turning towards David briefly before she flung her hood back. David jumped back with yelp while Emma's mouth fell open in astonishment.

"Ruby?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when the next chapter will up, mainly because we're nearing the end of this long ride and I'm not sure how exactly the break up of the chapters is gonna go (not to mention I have yet to write most of it), but its totally on my mind and as long as I focus on this and not the like billion other story ideas I have, it shall get done. Eventually.
> 
> However, school has started up again and my hardest and most important course is apparently very intense the first month so we'll have to see how I fit everything in. It's really not fair how much work I already have. Still, I'm a big procrastinator and while that does work against writing at times, other times I manage to make it work for me as what better way to not do school work than by telling myself I'm at least doing important writing stuff. lol
> 
> My eternal thanks to all those who read, bookmark, leave kudos, and extra eternal thanks to everyone who leaves comments. You're all the greatest.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It's been forever. I'm so sorry for the delay. No good excuses I'm afraid (well, some stuff is going on now but I should have had this done in November sooo) besides writing this chapter was like pulling teeth for some reason. Not sure why. Anyway, enjoy.

"Ruby! What? How are you here?!" Emma said as she gaped at her friend.

Ruby gave a sheepish smile, "That's complicated." She surged forward and pulled Emma into a strong hug which Emma returned after a second of surprise. "I'm so glad to see you."

David had tensed at the sudden movement, but relaxed when he saw the strange girl-wolf wasn't attacking. Mary Margaret nudged him from her seat at the table, "Ruby? Isn't that the name of one of her friends from the castle?" Comprehension dawned on the man's face. Emma had even said she was wolf-like. He thought back to that first confusing night in the castle and realized he'd actually seen the girl then, but the firelight and his own shock had made her seem far more intimidating.

"Come in," Emma said hurriedly, "What's going on?"

Ruby pulled back and looked cautiously at the couple, obviously unsure of herself, but Mary Margaret just smiled widely at her. "Please, sit down. Any friend of Emma's is always welcome in our home."

"How's the baby?" Ruby asked. Mary Margaret turned to show the bundle in her arms, which Ruby dutifully cooed over. "I'm glad you're both alright. It was kinda vague what actually happened from our end—you know how the queen can be," she added to Emma.

Emma began explaining what she had seen in the mirror and how Regina had helped as David took his daughter so Mary Margaret had her hands free to fix Ruby a mug of tea.

"... and everything worked out," Emma concluded. "I just can't believe you're here. How did you get past the wolves?"

Ruby gave a shrug, "I'm part wolf now. I discovered a while ago that those wolves don't, I don't know, don't recognize me as having come from the castle and so they don't try to stop me. I ran away one night, frustrated and tired about, about everything and I just kept running until I collapsed and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was near the edge of the forest and I looked human again. I was so excited and I kept going, managing to make it to a town until night fell. At night, I turn back into this form, the half-wolf, half-woman I am in the castle," Ruby explained. "But during the day, I was normal again."

"That's great!" Emma interrupted, happy her friend had found a way around the curse.

Ruby smiled briefly, before grimacing, "That's what I thought at first. I went back to castle—Granny had been beside herself when I didn't come home the previous nights—but when I told her what happened, she said I should go. That if I could be free, I should be."

"I tried to bring her with me," Ruby explained, not wanting Emma to think she would abandon her grandmother so easily, "but the further we got from the castle, well, it got painful for her and then she could hardly talk and so I ran back. She knew she had to stay, but she insisted I go and live my life. We didn't tell anyone else because we were sure the same thing that happened to Granny would happen to them and I wanted to leave soon. I was so worried that my ability to leave would, I don't know, stop working or the wolves would figure it out."

We didn't tell the Queen, but… I think she knew. I didn't think so before because I didn't think she would have let me leave when she couldn't but… All of my clothes were freshly washed, this new cloak in my wardrobe. When I got to town, I discovered coins in the pockets and an old ring to pawn. I was able to set up a cabin on the edge of town—not this town, one on the other side of the forest. Simple life, but good. New. Normal."

Then I found out that on the full moon I become a full-wolf—worse than that really. I become like the ones who guard the castle, dangerous and uncontrolled—with a taste for human flesh. I didn't even remember, or realize that it was me who was attacking people. Until the last time, I woke up and there was Pete—." Ruby swallowed and refused to meet anyone's eyes. "A friend. He was dead—I killed him. I ran, left everything and just ran the whole way home, back to Granny and the castle."

"Oh, Ruby…" Emma reached out to put a hand on friends arm and squeeze it reassuringly.

"It's alright," Ruby linked rapidly, "I used to go out every once in a while, never around the full moon and never for long, but just when it all got to be too much. And I tried to help Graham when he was here with the wolves, but it wasn't any use at all and I think that clued them in. I've only left a few more times after that and they seemed to notice, get closer each time. I haven't had the courage to test them in the last couple of years," she shrugged.

Everyone took a few minutes to digest Ruby's story. Then baby needed to be put to sleep while David and Emma cleared the table, giving Ruby time to collect herself.

When they all reconvened at the table, no one was sure how to start the conversation again, because all were remembering Ruby's plea for help that they had started with and no one really wanted to face what that might mean.

Emma took a deep breath, "That is all really interesting and I'm glad you came to visit but…" Ruby had implied that she hadn't wanted to risking trying to leave the castle in a while and yet she had. It was causing an inkling fear to grow in the back of Emma's mind, one she didn't want to acknowledge but knew she needed to. "Why are you here? You said something about help?"

"It's the Queen," Ruby admitted.

"Regina?" Emma asked, fear flooding her. "What happened? Is something wrong with her?"

"She's dying," Ruby said gravely.

"She's what?!"

"Something happened with her magic that caused her to start dying and then she tied the curse to her, to make it so that when she dies, the curse will break."

Emma stared at her uncomprehendingly, "But, but she told me that's not how the curse works. That she couldn't do that."

Ruby shrugged helplessly, "I don't really understand what she told us. She did something to it. With her magic."

"Why now though?"

"Well, she says that sending you away left some sort of hole in the fabric of the curse." Emma felt a pang of guilt at the implication that she had been in any way responsible for whatever was happening to Regina. Ruby didn't notice the flash of anguish that crossed her friends face and continued, "That it came with a price but that it mixed everything up enough that she was able to mess with it and change the rules in her favor. When you left she said that in two weeks' time, she would die and the curse would break for everyone else."

"But it's already been more than a week!" Emma exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

"I know, I should have come sooner, but everything was so confusing and I don't think we, well, some of us at least, wanted to admit how serious it all was. It's been so long since anything happened, we've forgotten how fast time goes when it matters."

"Some of you?"

"Yeah, most, most people think the whole curse is her fault anyway. They think her death ending it is…poetic? Fitting, I guess."

"What! The curse is that stupid fairy's fault! God."

"I know and I wouldn't think she deserved to die regardless," Ruby tried to reassure the incensed blonde. "And I thought she could find a loophole so she could get out of it too, but…"

"She's not even trying is she," Emma finished dully.

"I don't think so," Ruby replied with a sigh. "I thought she would, I thought she would fight tooth and nail to try and figure a way, but she just seems…resigned. She stopped having dinners in the main hall two nights ago, and now she's refusing to leave the West Wing or let anyone else in."

"That doesn't sound good," David said.

"God, of course she's isolating herself," Emma said as she began to pace. "This is so like her. She always has to suffer alone or whatever it is she thinks it is."

Ruby didn't know enough about the queen to really add to that, but she knew what she needed to do, "That's why you need to come back and help her!"

"What do you expect me to do though?" Emma asked, frustrated at having been told about this before it happened but feeling just as helpless as she had when she saw Mary Margaret struggling to give birth. Only this time Regina couldn't help her, this time it was Regina who needed help. "I don't have magic. I can't do anything to help!"

"Yes, you can," Ruby said firmly giving Emma a look.

"No!" Emma protested, knowing immediately what Ruby was referring too, angry at her friend for bringing this up again. Angry at these expectations she knew the castle inhabitants placed on her so easily. "I'm not some savior, no matter how much Henry believes it!" She went pale as her mind continued on that route, "Oh god, Henry. Does he know? How can she leave him like this?"

"She says that he's not really living now. That by dying and removing the curse, she's giving him back a real life."

Emma groaned, she could practically hear Regina thinking about that, it hadn't taken more than a few talks in the library, after who Henry was had been revealed, to realize Regina regretted Henry being sent to live with her because she felt like she'd gotten him trapped forever, especially since she believed the curse was unbreakable. "And how'd Henry take that?"

"He's heartbroken," Ruby said sadly. "He's confused, everything is changing so fast and with you gone and now the Queen. He's the only one she's still talking to, but she's distancing herself from him too. He goes back and forth from being sad and angry and then acting like everything's normal to acting like everything will get fixed out. Because he thinks you're going to come back and save everyone."

"But I can't _do_ anything!"

"You know what you can do!" Ruby hissed. "You're just too stubborn to admit it."

"You're the one who doesn't know what they're talking about," Emma argued through gritted teeth. Why did Ruby have to keep acting like she was choosing not to help?

"I don't understand," Mary Margaret said, interrupting the staring contest. "What is it that Ruby wants you to do? That you think you can't do? Break the curse how?"

Emma refused to meet anyone's eyes, choosing to glare at the wall instead.

Ruby glared at the stubborn blonde before turning back to Mary Margaret. "True love's kiss. It's supposed to be how you really break the curse, not just…cheat…to get around the rules the way the queen is doing right now."

Emma turned furious eyes on Ruby, "Don't make it sound that simple and don't call Regina _sacrificing_ herself for all of you 'cheating'!"

"I'm sorry," Ruby said, hanging her head at her own phrasing before she looked up again, "but I'm right. You need to get over yourself and admit that you love her. You can make sure we _all_ make it."

"Stop presuming to know how I feel. Stop acting like I'm in denial or being selfish or whatever it is you think I'm doing. Don't you think that if I really thought I could save her I would do it in a heartbeat?"

Ruby looked away again.

"Why _exactly_ is it you think you can't break the curse?" David asked. He knew his sister better than anyone in the room and he could clearly tell she was talking around something, her words were off, and that meant she was hiding something.

Emma looked at him incredulously, "Not you too! What makes you think I _can_ break it? I don't even know that I believe in true love, let alone that I'm Regina's true love," she added with an absurd, sarcastic laugh, like that was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.

"So you don't love her?" David asked, bluntly.

"Or," Mary Margaret suggested, "You don't think she loves you back?"

Emma blinked, not having expected them to ask outright. "I… She… It doesn't matter."

"Emma's right," Ruby said.

"I am?"

"Yup, because they're in love with each other however you slice it and while I don't know what exactly Emma is afraid of, it doesn't matter because if she just got over herself, everyone would be saved."

"Regina does not love me," Emma answered, pissed at having to say it aloud. "How would you even know if she did? You don't know her! Regina already had a true love, his name was Daniel and he's dead!"

"But you do love her, don't you?" Mary Margaret asked, while Ruby stared at the table, because she hadn't known that about the queen.

"I… I don't know… Maybe," she admitted for the first time to anyone, including herself. "But like I said, she doesn't love me, not like that."

"Emma," Ruby said, putting a hand on the blonde's arm, "You're right. I don't know the queen the way you do, but I did know her before you came, and she was different. You've changed her. You've made her happier than I've ever seen her."

"She's just never had a friend before," Emma said, knowing it was true and once more angry at the world on Regina's behalf because she should have all the friends in the world. She crossed her arms stubbornly, "It doesn't mean she has feelings for me."

"So you're saying that you are so completely sure that she doesn't return your feelings that you're not even going to try to save her? Or even just go back to say goodbye?" Mary Margaret asked, her voice cajoling.

David narrowed his eyes, looking at the blonde critically, "Maybe you're right. Maybe it wouldn't work. Clearly, you don't feel that strongly about her if you've already given up."

"Stop it." Emma scowled, knowing what he was trying to do.

David walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. When she met his eyes, he said, "Look, I don't know how you feel. None of us do. But I do know that if it were Mary Margaret in this position, I would go and try because it certainly can't make anything worse, but it could save everything. Don't you think she's worth it?"

"She is," Emma admitted. "I…" Emma was never chosen, never picked—for homes, for friends—David was the only person who'd ever stuck by her, who she really believed wanted her around. Even with sweet Mary Margaret, it seemed more likely that she only liked her because of David. With Ruby and everyone at the castle, it was easy to explain their interest in her as the one new thing there in so long. The idea that Regina wanted to be her friend seemed miracle enough, but the idea of her being her true love? That seemed beyond impossible, because Regina deserved the best—and that wasn't Emma.

However, Ruby was saying that Regina had sent her away, to save someone important to Emma, and it was costing her her life. That had to mean something, right? And if Emma wasn't even willing to risk exposing herself, revealing her own feelings for the woman, and risk them not being returned, how selfish and cowardly did that make her? If she didn't try to save Regina then David was right, she definitely didn't deserve the brunette.

She remembered Regina's smile when Henry came to have dinner with them, only a few days after the ball. The way she couldn't stop smiling through the whole meal, as if Emma and Henry eating with her because they wanted to be with her, was all she ever wanted in the world. As if she couldn't believe she'd been lucky enough to get this even once. Regina deserved that every day, she deserved to be that happy all the time. Regina deserved someone who fought for her.

"Alright," Emma said quietly. She turned to look at Ruby, "We'll leave tomorrow."

-x-x-x-

Little did Emma know, someone else, just outside the cottage was vowing the same thing. Neal stalked off purposely, having heard enough to convince himself what he needed to do. Some of it was confusing, but his father told the stories of the western wood, about the castle deep in the forest one could only find by getting lost in its trees, of the cursed castle with its vile mistress. More importantly, he understand that not only was there someone else Emma wanted over him. On top of that, the person was also the most legendary game he'd heard of. If he could hunt and kill this a magically cursed beast, not only would he have a fitting trophy to mount on his wall and bragging rights for the rest of his life for having rid the forest of this evil, he could also have Emma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Like I said up top, my sincerest apologies for the giant space of time between chapters 14 and 15. I promise that the next chapter will not be after so long a break. In fact, I've already started working on it and I hope that because the action is picking up it will be faster to write. According to my plan, there is only one more chapter and then an epilogue left for this story. Thank you for being patient with me (not that you really had a choice I guess) and thank you for any follows, favorites, and reviews!


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